EVENING-PRIMROSE 



bud that is to burst at evening has been restless all 

 day, the petals have been slowly unrolling and steadily 

 pushing against the green walls of their prison-house', 

 and as the sun sinks they are ready to free them- 

 selves, only held in leash by the tips of the sepals, 

 which chng together. At length the supreme moment 

 arrives, the tips are forced to give way, and, with a 

 jerk, one sepal after another draws back, folds over, 

 and the corolla, a pure, clear yellow surrounded by 

 an atmosphere of perfume, looks out into the dark- 

 ening twilight fresh, fragrant, exquisite — to endure 

 for a night. The pollen, in cobwebby masses, was 

 freed from the anthers before the blossom opened and 

 is carried away by the night-flying moths. As the 

 corolla opens the anthers lean away from the style, 

 showing that self-fertilization is no part of nature's 

 plan here. 



The name Primrose for the plant is somewhat 

 unfortunate, associated as that name is with the 

 springtime. 



^3S 





