MOORLAND IDYLLS. 



the winged stage of the insect, is the sexual 

 epoch of the plant, an avatar told off, as the 

 butterfly by the caterpillar, to produce the 

 seeds which are the eggs of the' species. 

 In each case a certain definite period of 

 time is passed in laying by material, in eating 

 and storing only ; then comes a quiescent 

 epoch of rest and rebuilding ; and this again 

 is followed by a mature stage of marriage 

 and reproduction. Notice, too, in either 

 instance, that the reproductive stage is more 

 beautifully formed and more attractively 

 coloured than the mere accumulative and 

 storing mechanism. 



What is thus true of the crocus and of the 

 butterfly is true, to a great extent, of all 

 plants and animals in temperate or cold 

 climates. They enter every winter into 

 a chrysalis stage, from which in early spring 

 they emerge once more, still more beautiful 

 than before, freshly adorned for the mating 

 and nesting period. Trees lose their leaves, 

 and withdraw their protoplasmic and starchy 

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