Plants. 263 



Look at the opening lily, as it floats upon the 

 waters, and see the beautiful contrast of alabaster 

 and gold ! or at the nicely balanced colorings of a 

 multitude of our flowers, where the tints are ranged 

 in dots, or rings, with such precision as to delight 

 us, not only by the rich coloring, but by the artistic 

 relation of the colors to each other, and to the form 

 of the flower. Who can believe that such beauty 

 of form and color serves merely to attract insects? 



It is among plants, also, that we find that special 

 provision for the increase of beauty, as they are 

 culr -id man becomes capable of appreciating 



beauty for its own sake. We refer to the doubling 

 of flowers, like roses, and dahlias, and many others, 

 that increase in beauty by this process, until they 

 lose all power of producing seed, for which the 

 1 lower seems primarily to \ Hut no plant 



ever loses the power of producing seed, unless other 

 provision has been made for its propagation ; and 

 when an annual thus changes, so that it can no 

 longer produce seed, it becomes perennial. The 

 whole economy of the plant in such cases seems to 

 be arranged with regard to beauty, but with wise 

 forethought for the preservation of the species. 

 How nicely balanced the forces in the plant must 

 be, that while it can produce seed, its course is run 

 in a single year, but when the seed-producing power 

 is lost by the unrolling of its organs into beautiful 

 petals, there is power enough saved by the process 

 to carry the plant over, and make its life continuous, 

 that it may be propagated from the root. 



