72 LETTERS TO MARCO xn 



tural structure displayed in the seed and its 

 case than in all the rest of the plant and its 

 parts ? Flowers are very beautiful, but the 

 coloured petals of which they are usually 

 formed possess not half the architectural 

 beauty of the seed-receptacle. Take for in- 

 stance a poppy-head of seed, with its cup and 

 ornamental little roof-top, beneath the eaves 

 of which are the little windows through which 

 the seeds fall out when ripe ; the flower when 

 in bloom is but a tumbled mass of loveli- 

 ness compared to this compact and neat 

 arrangement, which may be considered as a 

 regular little house with thousands of little 

 lives within it. Look at the wonderful com- 

 bination of strength and lightness displayed 

 in the walnut shell, the picturesqueness of the 

 covering of the horse-chestnut, or the quaint- 

 ness of the winged seeds of the sycamore : 

 how different they all are, and how artistic. 



The seed -heads of the lily tribes, again, 

 are extremely full of artistic interest. Most 

 of the spring flowering sorts have drooping 



