NEWS OF SPRING 



taken by way of instances, as the random result of observation 

 and circumstance. I propose, however, in these short notes, to 

 concern myself above all with the flower, for it is in the flower 

 that the greatest marvels shine forth. I set aside, for the mo- 

 ment, the carnivorous flowers, Droseras, Nepenthes and the 

 rest, which verge upon the animal kingdom and would de- 

 mand a special and expansive study, in order to devote myself 

 to the true flower, the flower proper, which is believed to be 

 insentient and inanimate. 



To separate facts from theories, let us speak of the flower 

 as though it had foreseen and conceived all that it has realized, 

 after the manner of men. We shall see later how much we 

 must concede to it, how much deny it. For the present, let 

 it take the stage alone, like a splendid princess endowed with 

 reason and will. There is no denying that it appears to be 

 provided with both; and to deprive it of either we should 

 have to resort to very obscure hypotheses. It is there, then, 

 motionless on its stalk, sheltering in a dazzling tabernacle the 

 reproductive organs of the plant. Apparently, it has but to 

 allow the mysterious union of the stamens and pistil to be 

 consummated in this tabernacle of love. And many flowers 

 do so consent. But to many others there is propounded, big 



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