GREAT BINDWEED. 159 



tion ill tlie vegetable world. Her place 

 is lowly, and she has not to bear the stern- 

 ness of winter storms ; therefore she is not 

 enwrapped in strong fibres, and roughly 

 coated, nor is she fenced and guarded with 

 sharp thorns. But her leaves are green 

 and spreading, and her petals pearly white, 

 and he who passes by her often lingers to 

 observe her symmetry and beauty. Lovely 

 indeed she is, and the botanist may recount 

 concerning her, that she has an assigned 

 duty which no other flower could fulfil. 

 One day comprises her short life, but in 

 that one day no work which she has to 

 do is left undone ; and wonderfully is she 

 constructed for the doing of that work. 

 Her trumpet-shaped corollas are designed 

 to reflect the rays of the sun, and, like 

 highly polished mirrors directed to one focus, 

 convey as much heat as possible to the in- 

 terior. Those who are interested in the 



