168 FRESH FIELDS 



In the Lake district I saw meadows purple with 

 a species of wild geranium, probably Geranium 

 pratense. It answered well to our wild geranium, 

 which in May sometimes covers wettish meadows 

 in the same manner, except that this English species 

 was of a dark blue purple. Prunella, I noticed, 

 was of a much deeper purple there than at home. 

 The purple orchids also were stronger colored, but 

 less graceful and pleasing, than our OAvn. One 

 species which I noticed in June, with habits similar 

 to our purple fringed- orchis, perhaps the pyramidal 

 orchis, had quite a coarse, plebeian look. Probably 

 the most striking blue and purple wild flowers we 

 have are of European origin, as succory, blue-weed 

 or bugloss, vervain, purple loosestrife, and harebell. 

 These colors, except with the fall asters and gentians, 

 seem rather unstable in our flora. 



It has been observed by the Norwegian botanist 

 Schlibeler that plants and trees in the higher lati- 

 tudes have larger leaves and larger flowers than 

 farther south, and that many flowers which are 

 white in the south become violet in the far north. 

 This agrees with my own observation. The feebler 

 light necessitates more leaf surface, and the fewer 

 insects necessitate larger and more showy flowers to 

 attract them and secure cross-fertilization. Black- 

 berry blossoms, so white with us, are a decided 

 pink in England. The same is true of the water- 

 plantain. Our houstonia and hepatica would proba- 

 bly become a deep blue in that country. The 

 marine climate probably has something to do also 



