366 THE UNIVERSE. 



fruit in miniature ; the style, which surmounts it, but which 

 is wanting in some other plants ; and, lastly, the stigma, 

 which expands into a trilobed swelling at its extremity. 



Such are the elements of the flower, and these, by their 

 close union or their monstrous anomalies, produce the in- 

 finite variety of forms which we admire throughout the 

 vegetable kingdom. 



A ceaseless source of fecundity, the flower is the object of 

 the most delicate protecting care. 



When yet scarcely outlined, downy scales lend warmth 

 to it, and form a soft pillow for its first lineaments, and the 

 exterior of the bud is sheathed with thin dry scales, covered 

 with resin to protect the organ against moisture. 



As an extreme precaution some flowers are covered with 

 an envelope, or spathe, which does not fall till the time of 

 opening. In small-sized monocotyledons, such as the iris 

 (Fig. 174) and garlic, this envelope is very thin, mem- 

 branous, and transparent ; whilst in some great species like 

 the palms, this supplementary cradle of the young flowers 

 acquires colossal proportions : it is thick, woody, and re- 

 sembles a large cup one to two yards long, and this allows 

 the negresses sometimes to make use of it as a bath for 

 their children. 



