MIDSUMMER 



reflection of the sun itself as do these meadows 

 about us. One would suppose thai the yellow 

 rays of the omnipresent black-eyed Susan would 

 droop beneath the fierce ones which beat upon 

 them from above. Instead, they seem to welcome Composite 

 the touch of a "kinsman and to gain vigor from lJmtljy 

 the contact. One instantly recognizes these flow- 

 ers as members of the great composite family, a 

 tribe which is beginning to take almost undisputed 

 possession of many of our fields ; that is, in rela- 

 tion to the floral world, for the farmers arc waging 

 constant war upon it. They are cousins of the 

 dandelions and daisies, of the golden-rod and 

 asters. 



The family name indicates that each flower-head 

 is composed of a number of small flowers which 

 are clustered so closely as to give the effect of a 

 single blossom. In the black-eyed Susan the brown 

 centre, the " black eye " itself, consists of a quan- 

 tity of tubular-shaped blossoms, which are crowded Disk and 



upon a somewhat cone-shaped receptacle, hence Ml " a 

 the common name of " cone-flower." In botanical 

 parlance, these are called "disk-flowers." They 

 possess both stamens and pistils, while the yellow 

 rays, which commonly are regarded as petals, are 

 in reality flowers which are without either of these 

 important organs; only assisting in the perpetua- 

 tion of the species by arresting the attention of 



127 



