144 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 



As the lilies are squeezed together their flower- 

 leaves have no chance to reach a perfect develop- 

 ment. So the spathe, at first a 

 mere leafy sheath, begins to assume 

 the duties which they have 



abandoned, and, by making a show 

 FIG. 33. A single. 



floret of the sweet- m the world, helps to lure flying- 

 flag. 



insects to the blossom-colony. 



The downward path is as easy in nature as it 

 is in morals. Generation after generation the par- 

 tially-superseded flower-leaves pale and dwindle, 

 till, as in the calla, they are wholly superseded, 

 and the spathe completely usurps their office of 

 insect-luring. 



The cat-tail flag is like a calla, with its stami- 

 nate .and pistillate flowers separated, and with its 

 creamy leaf torn away. It depends upon the wind 

 for its pollen-carrying, and hence has no need of 

 an insect-lure. Its flowers are reduced to the 

 lowest possible terms, and may represent the last 

 step in degeneration. 



In early summer the cat-tail is a two-story ar- 

 rangement (Fig. 34). The upper part is of 

 golden-green and soft-like chenille, while the lower 

 portion is darker in hue and more solid to the 

 touch. The golden-green upper-story is a mass 



