374 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the spikes of the narrow-leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) 

 branched and compounded into curious shapes. Some of the nor- 

 mal and malformed spikes are shown in Fig. 2. 



FIG. 2. MALFORMED HEADS OF PLANTAGO LANCEOLATA. 



As a tailpiece to this portion of the subject it is a pleasure to 

 introduce a freak among the native orchards, as shown in Fig. 3. 

 A word of explanation is needed of the normal form of the lady's 

 slipper here shown. As found in the moist woods, the plant above 

 ground consists of two leaves and a single pink and strange-looking 

 blossom terminating the stalk. This is the rule, and it has been 

 strictly adhered to, so far as the writer knows, for centuries with a 

 single exception, and that exception is the one here presented. It 

 is as remarkable as a double-headed dog, and as difficult of explana- 

 tion as the twin thumb. 



Perhaps the best way is to make no attempt to account for the 

 freak, and leave the subject open for those who have a gift of in- 

 sight into the secrets of the abnormal and the unexpected. Other 

 species of cypripediums regularly bear more than one flower; this 

 one may have done so in former ages, and here is the link that binds 

 our pretty unifloral species to its remote and possibly extinct ances- 

 tor. On the other hand, a double-flowered form is possibly in em- 

 bryo, and before the next century closes the Cypripedium acaule 

 Ait. may need to have its description changed so as to embrace two 

 flowers. 



