CHAPTEK VIII. 



THE FLORAL CLOCK. 



flowers of the lovely nipplewort, the beauti- 

 ful water-lily, and the brilliant marigold, with a 

 great number of other plants, expand and close at 

 certain fixed hours. They mark the altitude of the 

 sun, and its inclination; and steadily following its 

 motion on high, by their own imitative changes on 

 earth, they indicate, with unerring accuracy, the course 

 of time. Having observed this remarkable fact, 

 Linnaeus contrived his famous floral clock. It con- 

 sisted of three divisions : a meteorological division, 

 containing flowers that open or close earlier or later, 

 according to the condition of the atmosphere, and 

 consequently indicate the state of the weather; a 



