NATURE'S FONDNESS FOR POLKA DOTS 



of its fronds; another runs up a separate 

 stalk for them. One seed falls directly to 

 the earth and another has wings and joins 

 the aviators. One animal is protected by 

 his stripes and another by his spots, which 

 brings us again to our subject. 



Following the long, long trail of the polka 

 dot, one discovers nature's thrifty habit of 

 making the most of every one of her designs. 

 This harmless auto-plagiarism finds inci- 

 dental testimony in such names as the tiger 

 lily, the trout lily, the leopard-frog, and the 

 leopard moth. 



Again, a study of seashells, of which there 

 are legions and legions, shows the polka dot 

 in a bewildering number of sizes and 

 colors, and the same embellishment is worn 

 by a vast number of fishes (like the spotted 

 kelpfish, and giant starfish) and reptiles. 

 On some fishes the brook trout is a notable 

 example one finds an illuminated edition 

 of the polka dot, or a dot with something 

 like a prismatic halo, an effect nearly dupli- 

 cated in the leaves of the adder-tongue, or 

 trout lily, as it is better named by John 



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