194 PEARLS AND PEBBLES. 



reach the influence of the light and the warm sunshine, 

 the flowers expand into full-blown beauty and delicious 

 lemon-scented fragrance. 



To float beside a bed of these beautiful flowers and 

 glossy, widespread leaves is a treat not to be forgotten. 

 As daylight closes to evening, the lovely blossoms fold 

 their snowy petals over the golden stamens and retire to 

 their watery chambers for the night. 



The native water lilies of North America exceed in 

 size and beauty those of England, and there are varieties 

 found among our inland lakes in Ontario, tinged with 

 the most delicate rose pink.* I have seen, in one of the 

 inland lakes, a very small and lovely water lily hardly 

 .exceeding a silver dollar in size. 



In many aquatic plants we find the foliage is minutely 

 and finely divided, which enables the water to flow 

 through them without any impediment, as in the Pond- 

 weed Family. In the water Ranunculi the root leaves 

 are flat and wide-spreading, but as the plant ascends 

 the leaves are cut into fine, narrow segments, and so 

 allow the currents of water to pass freely through them. 



* In my "Studies of Plant Life," illustrated by Mrs. Chamberlin, is given 

 a colored plate of the pink Nymphce Oderata. 



