Consciousness in Flants. 339 
accepted, leaves but a wilted, half-hearted blossom to wel- 
come the sipper of the sunshine. This beautiful expectancy, 
somehow or other, determines the limit of its bloom. How- 
ever, in the event of rain or other causes preventive of insect 
visits, the evening primrose will remain open for the attention 
of the butterflies during the ensuing day, when otherwise it 
would have perceptibly drooped, and extended to them but 
a listless welcome. Most strikingly may this fact be seen 
illustrated in a spray of mountain-laurel. For nearly a week 
have I observed in my house these blossoms lingering in 
patient expectancy, when the flowers on the parent shrub 
in the woods had fallen several days before, their mission in 
life having been fulfilled. In the house specimens the radi- 
ating stamens, which are naturally dependent upon insects 
for their release, and the consequent discharge of the pollen, 
remained in their pockets on the side of the blossom-cup, a 
support, as it seemed, for the bracing up of the corolla upon 
its receptacle. But when the operation of releasing the 
stamens was artificially consummated, the flower-cup soon 
dropped off or withered upon the peduncle. 
Not mainly has the writer, in attributing a phosphorescent 
quality to the evening primrose, followed the license of 
fancy, for, if scientists are to be believed, the regular lumin- 
ous glow of this and other nocturnal flowers has long 
attracted the attention of the curious, and positive qualities 
of inherent light have been accorded in many instances. It 
is true, as one authority asserts, that “the evening primrose 
is perfectly visible in the darkest night,” from which fact 
phosphorescent properties have been ascribed to it. Many 
well-authenticated cases are on record of luminous, electrical, 
lightning-like phosphorescence playing about flowers, the 
daughter of Linnzus having been the first one to note such 
an interesting phenomenon. Similar flashes or corona have 
been observed in nasturtiums, double marigold, geraniums, 
red poppy, tuberose, sunflower and evening primrose. <Ac- 
cording to various authorities, and it would be a rash and 
