INTELLIGENCE OF FLOWERS 



not necessary to seek so high; and we find as much intelligence 

 and almost as much visible spontaneity at the other end of 

 the world which we are considering, in the shallows where 

 the plant is hardly to be distinguished from clay or stone. 

 We have here the fabulous class of the Cryptogamia, which 

 can be studied only under the microscope, for which reason 

 we will pass it by in silence, although the work of the sporules 

 of the Mushrooms, Ferns and Horse-tails is incomparable in 

 its delicacy and ingenuity. But, among the aquatic plants, 

 the inhabitants of the original ooze and mud, we can see less 

 secret marvels performed. As the fertilization of their flow- 

 ers cannot be effected under water, each of them has thought 

 out a different system to allow of the dry dissemination of the 

 pollen. Thus, the Zosteras, that is to say, the common Sea- 

 wrack with which we stuff our bedding, carefully enclose their 

 flower in a regular diving-bell; and the Water-lilies send 

 theirs to blossom on the surface of the pond, supporting and 

 feeding it at the top of an endless stalk, which lengthens as 

 the level of the water rises. The Villersia nymphoides, having 

 no expanding stalk, simply releases its flowers, which rise and 

 burst like bubbles. The Trapa natans, or Water-caltrop, sup- 

 plies them with a sort ©f inflated bladder: they shoot up and 



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