1 6 FLOWERS THAT NEVER FADE 



cate azure of the blue-tipped blossoms of 

 the ivy morning glory to the fiery splendor 

 of the scarlet clematis, the red mallows, and 

 the cardinal flowers, and the consummate 

 skill of the workmanship which finds it as 

 easy to reproduce, for instance, the feathery 

 white bloom of the fringe-tree as the large, 

 thick, spongy leaves of the milk-weed. 



Still more marvellous is the absolute 

 accuracy with which every natural detail 

 has been reproduced. Not only is it im- 

 possible to detect any inaccuracies with the 

 naked eye, but even a microscopic exami- 

 nation fails to reveal any. Such an exami- 

 nation has been made by a skilled botanist 

 for his own satisfaction. 1 He was surprised 

 and delighted to find nature so accurately 

 followed in all those details that could be 

 seen by the unaided eye ; but he was per- 

 suaded that the lens must surely reveal 

 inaccuracies which were otherwise invisi- 

 ble. It seemed to him impossible that the 

 artists could have produced a plant, covered 

 perhaps with minute flowers, with such ex- 

 actness that any flower, taken at random, 

 should follow the specific character of the 

 particular species as if the natural plant 



1 See the article on the Ware Collection in the 

 Botanical Gazette for April. 1894. The text of the 

 above paragraph, as well as of the one that follows it, 

 is substantially quoted from that excellent paper. 



