204 RIVERSIDE LETTERS xxvi 



rapidly ; one might almost imagine that if 

 you were to sit and watch, a distinct motion 

 would be apparent. In the morning the 

 bud is but a tight roll, about an inch and 

 a half or two inches long ; late in the after- 

 noon it is a lovely funnel-shaped cup often 

 three inches across. 



The colour has a luminous quality that 

 no pigment we possess can at all approxi- 

 mate ; generally of a delicate pure yellow, 

 but sometimes white. CE. tarraxifolia 

 has very large white blooms, which are 

 quite startling when you come upon them 

 unexpectedly in the evening ; the foliage 

 greatly resembles that of the dandelion, 

 hence its name, but the habit of the plant is 

 straggling and untidy, which, together with 

 the fact that the blooms change to a rather 

 dull pink as they go off, somewhat detracts 

 from the value of the plant in my eyes. 

 CEnothera missouriensis has yellow flowers 

 nearly as large as CE. tarraxifolia, the 

 foliage being compact and of a lovely sub- 



