JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST. 



129 



beautiful thing imaginable un- 

 der the magnifying glass ; the 

 petals are not so remarkable, 

 but the calyx (the protecting 

 green envelope of the flower) is 

 as delicate as though it wei-e 

 modeled in spun glass ; the 

 translucent lines of gi-een 

 and white, the hairy sur- 

 face, and the symmetrj' 

 of the tiny form, are all 

 worth the closest exam- 

 ination. My pen-and-ink 

 drawing is hard and coarse be- 

 side Nature's perfect art ; if 

 the plant had been formed of 

 the most fragile and delicately 

 colored glass it could scarcely 

 have been more curious or 

 beautiful. There are two other 

 varieties of the catchfly which 

 are common : Starry Campion 

 [Silene stellata) and Bladder 

 Campion {Silene inflata). The 

 petals of the former are cut in 

 a fringe ; the stem of the latter 

 is smooth, and its calyx is 



Silene noctiflora. 



