240 The Great World's Farm 



up, according as the blossoms are of one color or another; 

 for we know that the pink hydrangea will turn blue if sup- 

 phed with an extra amount of iron; and we may argue 

 that, though the peas all look alike, one has that within 

 it which causes it to take up what will produce pink blos- 

 soms, and another that which will produce purple ones. 

 But it is a mystery still. 



We may prevent their growing at all, we may keep 

 them till the possibihty of life has died out of them; or, 

 though we let them grow, we may prevent their blossom- 

 ing; but if allowed to grow and blossom without interfer- 

 ence, in their native soil, one will bear its pink and another 

 its purple blossoms without fail. 



But if the seed tells us nothing as to the color of the 

 blossom which will spring from it, it often tells us also 

 just as little as to the size of the plant which it will pro- 

 duce, and the length of that plant's life. 



Here, for instance, are three seeds of different sizes, 

 but all belonging to the bean-like or leguminous order of 

 plants. Supposing that we had never seen them before, 

 and were told that one would produce a tree, another a 

 shrub, and the third a dwarf annual, should we be likely 

 to guess that, from the two smaller seeds would grow a 

 laburnum and a broom-plant, while from the third, which 

 is so many times larger, would spring only a broad or 

 Windsor bean? 



Some of the orchids bear large blossoms, and others 

 large masses of blossom; yet their seed is almost dustlike. 

 The seed of the lobelia and of the scented tobacco is 

 about equally minute; but from the one springs a plant 

 only a few inches high, with quite small blossoms; 

 and from the other, one which grows to a height of 



