AN INCLINATION FOR SCIENCE. 17 



making this touching request at parting " If you 

 should remember me when you arrive in your own 

 country, send me Drosera longifolia ; I am told it 

 is a common plant in England." This Drosera is 

 the sundew, that well-known ornament of our 

 mossy bogs, which grows on the borders of ponds 

 and rivulets in moorland districts. Its beauty 

 consists in the form and appearance of the leaves, 

 which proceed immediately from the root, and 

 spread over the surface of the ground, each plant 

 forming a little circular plot of green, cup-shaped 

 leaves, thickly fringed with hairs of a deep rose 

 colour. These hairs support small drops or globules 

 of a transparent dew, which continues even in the 

 hottest part of the day, and in the fullest exposure 

 to the sun. 



To return to Linnaeus. It is evident that he 

 was never so entirely happy as when searching 

 into the secret and hidden properties and workings 

 of nature. Hence, we are told, he reckoned it 

 among the choicest favours vouchsafed him by 

 Providence that he had been " inspired with an 

 inclination for science so passionate" as to become 

 the source of highest delight to him. This diligent 

 and minute observation was continually adding to 

 his knowledge and imparting some fresh light in 

 the study he loved. It is interesting to see him 

 carefully noting the observations he had personally 



