208 COMPOUND FLOWERS. DAISY. 



of the cup, and is dotted all over with little holes ; 

 these are the places in which the seeds were fixed ; 

 and when I cut down through the sugar-loaf, you 

 see that it has a soft pith within. [PLATE 21.] 

 This flower is called the Daisy, (Day's-Eye, or the 

 Eye of Day,) from its opening to the rising sun. 

 When the sun declines, the flower shuts itself 

 up, as if to take its rest. It has always been a 

 favourite with poets ; and Chaucer, who lived in 

 the fourteenth century, and was one of the first to 

 take notice of the opening and shutting of flowers 

 at particular times of the day, expresses great par- 

 tiality for it. 



EDWARD. 



And is every daisy that we see in the fields 

 made like this, of so many beautiful little 



flowers ? 



MOTHER. 



. All the flowers of this class, not only the 

 Daisy, but the Dandelion, the Thistle, and a great 

 number of the most common wild flowers, are 

 formed nearly in the same way ; and, when magni- 

 fied, are equally beautiful and curious. But there 

 are differences in the shape and arrangement of 

 their parts, which enable botanists to divide the 

 class into orders and genera ; and these you will 

 now be able to understand. I shall not, however, 

 give you more than a general explanation of them ; 

 for I do not advise you to examine many plants 



