iv LETTERS TO MARCO 27 



ness, coupled with heat, are the main agents 

 at work in forming and developing the 

 growth. 



The care with which Nature wraps up her 

 treasures is very interesting. The soft woolly 

 lining which so many seed-coverings have, 

 and the papery filament which surrounds so 

 many blooms when in embryo state, must 

 afford great pleasure to any one who 

 examines these things. The whity-brown 

 paper which envelops the daffodil, especi- 

 ally noticeable in the poet's narcissus, always 

 reminds me of the wrappings round the 

 lower parts of the dolls in the toy-shop 

 windows. 



The long frosts have delayed the growth 

 of all spring plants this year, so that my 

 crocuses are only just fully out ; but they 

 seem all the finer for having been kept back, 

 enjoying the lengthening sunlight which 

 they get now. They are surrounded by in- 

 numerable bees all day long, some of which, 

 through their eagerness to take advantage of 





