Spring and Summer Vegetation 



the Um belli ferae (Hemlockworts), and 

 other of the later bloomers. We have a 

 greater number of those low, compactly 

 built plants, such as the Dandelion, Colts- 

 foot, Violet, and Daffodil, whose flowers 

 come straight from the root, and seem as 

 if they had been placed there just ready 

 for unfolding. And in plants of a different 

 description, as the Water - Blob (Caltha 

 palustris), which gilds the early marsh 

 with such sudden splendour, or the Ground 

 Ivy and Chickweed, there is a marked 

 tendency to assume a like general aspect. 



Now what is the object of this charac- 

 teristic difference of type ? In the first 

 place, evidently, that in the early flowerers 

 the bloom should be evolved as rapidly 

 and with as little preliminary effort as pos- 

 sible. The earlier the plant has to blossom, 

 the less work it must have to do before 

 the blossom is put forth. Besides, longer 

 stalks or leafy shoots would expose a larger 

 surface unnecessarily to the cold. And 

 this might prove injurious to even the 

 hardiest plants, as we often see the foliage 

 of the Elder and of other trees early in 

 their leaf suffering most severely in the 

 biting winds of March. In the second 

 place, by this arrangement all undue inter- 

 ference is prevented, so that everything in 

 189 



