26 LETTERS TO .MARCO iv 



more seed may help you to understand my 

 somewhat cumbrous description. Amongst 

 the lily tribes one often sees the flower 

 bending over and forming a loop ; but the 

 flower will be found, in the first instance, 

 screwed up into a point, and does not curl 



over until the stalk, which goes on growing 

 quickly in the dark pointed sheath of leaves, 

 pushes it through, when the weight of the 

 bloom tells and bends it over, as in the case 

 of the snowdrop or daffodil. But in both 

 the spike and the loop the retarding effect 

 of light and the accelerating power of dark- 



