200 LETTER XVII. 



be nothing- more than little petals, are in reality so many 

 true flowers ; and ever}' one of those tiny yellow things 

 also, which you see in the centre, and which at first 

 you have perhaps taken for nothing hut stamens, are 

 real flowers. If your fingers were already exercised 

 in botanical dissections, and you were armed with a 

 good glass, and plenty of patience, I might convince 

 you of the truth of this ; but at present you must begin, 

 if you please, by believing me on my word, for fear 

 of fatiguing your attention upon atoms. However, 

 to put you at least in the way, pull out one of the 

 white leaves from the flower ; you will think at first 

 that it is flat from one end to the other ; but look 

 carefully at the end by which it was fastened to the 

 flower, and you will see that this end is not flat, but 

 round and hollow, in form of a tube, and that a 

 little thread ending in two horns, issues from the 

 tube ; this thread is the forked style of the flower, 

 which, as you now see, is flat only at top. 



" Next, look at those little yellow things in the 

 middle of the flower, and which, as I have told you, 

 are all so many flowers ; if the flower is sufficiently 

 advanced, you will see some of them open in the 

 middle, and even cut into several parts. 



" These are monopetalous corollas, which expand, 

 and a glass will easily discover in them the pistil, 

 and even the anthers with which it is surrounded. 

 Commonly the yellow florets towards the centre are 

 still rounded and closed. These, however, are flowers 

 like the others, but not yet open ; for they expand suc- 

 cessively from the edge inwards. This is enough 



