CHAPTER XXX 



THE BLOSSOM 



HERE is the fennel-flower, which, with the corn- 

 flower and the poppy, is so common in our 

 fields of grain. It is purplish red, while the poppy- 

 is scarlet and the corn-flower, or bluet, is of an azure 

 like that of the sky, as its alternative name indicates. 

 On the outside of the fennel-flower are five green, 

 firm pieces joined together at the bottom but ter- 

 minating in long points at the top. Each of these 

 pieces is called a sepal, and the five together form 

 the calyx. Inside are five other pieces, thin, fine, 

 broad, purplish red in color. Each one bears the 

 name of petal, and collectively they form the corolla. 



"Most flowers have two envelopes like these, one 

 within the other. The outer one, or calyx, is nearly 

 always green in color and firm in structure ; the inner 

 one, or corolla, much more delicate in texture, is 

 tinged with those magnificent hues that please the 

 eye so much in flowers. 



' ' The sepals of the calyx and the petals of the co- 

 rolla are sometimes separated from one another and 

 sometimes joined together. In the fennel-flower the 

 sepals are united below in a common sheath bristling 

 with coarse hairs; but in their upper part they are 



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