Some Anomalies 



of the flower the admired disorder of all true 

 poetry. The thick-lipped mask of the snap- 

 dragon, the gaping jaws of the sage are every 

 whit as effective as the rosette of the haw- 

 thorn or the sloe. They a e so many chro- 

 matic notes added to the gamut, so many 

 charming variations upon one glorious 

 theme, so many discords that enhance the 

 value of the harmonies. The floral sym- 

 phony gains if interrupted by occasional 

 solos. 



The Pedestrian Locust, hopping among 

 the saxifrage amid the lofty summits of the 

 hills, explains his incapacity to fly by reasons 

 of a like order; so does the Staphylinus his 

 skimpy jacket, the Necydalis his short coat, 

 the Myodites her Fly-like aspect. Each 

 after his fashion varies the monotony of the 

 general theme; each strikes a special note in 

 the universal concert. It is not so easy to 

 see why the Scarab abandons his fore-tarsi, 

 why the Iris-beetle has only one claw to her 

 fingers, why the Geotrupes-grub is born mu- 

 tilated. To what are these minute aberra- 

 tions due? Before answering, let us once 

 again take counsel with the plant. 



One of the inmates of our hothouses is 

 the Alstrcemeria pelegrina, or Inca lily, a 

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