"THE LEAFY MONTH OF JUNE" 



the days when its breath was a sufficient joy and 

 its limits barred out all possibility of disaster. 



If we pluck from the rounded heads one tiny 

 flower and examine it with a magnifying-glass 

 we see that it has somewhat the butterfly shape 

 of its kinsman, the sweet-pea of the garden. 

 We remember that as children we followed the 

 bee's example and sucked from its slender tube 

 the nectar; and we conclude that the combined Insect vis- 

 presence of irregularity of form, nectar, vivid ttors 

 coloring, and fragrance indicates a need of insect 

 visitors for the exchange of pollen and conse- 

 quent setting of seed, as Nature never expends so 

 much effort without some clear end in view. 



As an instance of the strange " web of complex 

 relations," to quote Darwin, which binds to- 

 gether the various forms of life, I recall a state- 

 ment, which created some amusement at a meet- p tn k do- 

 ing of the English Royal Agricultural Society, ^,^ olJ 

 to the effect that the growth of pink clover de- 

 pended largely on the proximity of old women. 

 The speaker argued that old women kept cats ; 

 cats killed mice ; mice were prone to destroy the 

 nests of the bumble-bees, which alone were fitted, 

 owing to the length of their probosces, to fer- 

 tilize the blossoms of the clover. Consequently, a 

 good supply of clover depended on an abundance 

 of old women. 



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