10 THE MEADOW. 



in reality one single flower, but an assemblage of 

 perhaps as many as a hundred very small and ele- 

 gantly-shaped yellow cups, surrounded by a border 

 of white spreading flower-leaves or petals. Now 

 every one of these florets, as they are called, both 

 yellow and white, is a distinct flower of itself, not 

 certainly very large, or growing upon a long stem, 

 like most other flowers, but still a distinct flower. 

 But why, you will ask, are they so different in 

 shape ? What reason can there be why those in 

 the centre should be like cups, while those at the 

 border are flat like other flowers. 



I will endeavour to furnish you with a reason. 

 The yellow cups are shaped like bells, and quite 

 open, so that, without some means to prevent such 

 an occurrence, every shower of rain would fill them 

 with water. Now, most bell-shaped flowers, such 

 as the Wild Hyacinth and the different kinds of 

 Campanula, hang down their heads, and, there- 

 fore, let it rain ever so hard, are kept as dry as if 

 they were sheltered by a thatched roof; but the 

 cups of the Daisy are turned upwards, and, as they 

 cannot shelter themselves, require to be protected 

 by some other means, and here their associates, 

 which form the fringe of white florets, lend their 

 aid. These are so constituted, that when either 

 rain or dew is about to fall they slowly rise from 

 their horizontal position and close over the yellow 

 flowers, forming for them a covering like a tent. 

 Should the weather be still, they remain in their 

 erect position, and whatever wet falls runs down 

 on the outside of the white petals ; but if it blows 

 hard, they yield to the wind and present the base 

 of the flower to the driving rain. But in either 

 case the yellow flowers are equally protected from 



