GENTIAN FAMILY 231 
When we realize that the Fringed Gentian 
grows only from seed, requiring two seasons to 
develop, we can easily see how it happens that 
the plant is so often exterminated near villages. 
The flowers are so beautiful that people feel they 
must gather them, and so there is no chance for 
the seed to develop to start the next year’s plants. 
If we are to enjoy the flowers year after year we 
must leave enough of them on their stalks to 
insure a crop of seed each season. 
OBSERVATIONS FOR NOTEBOOK 
CLosep GENTIAN: 
(A) 1. Where do you find the Closed Gentian grow- 
ing? 
2. Is the soil wet or dry? 
3. What variation is there in the number of 
blossoms on a plant? 
4. Are the flowers on a single plant always of the 
same color? 
5. Is the color around the outer end of the blos- 
som the same in young as it is in older 
flowers? 
6. Have you seen any bumble-bees visiting the 
flowers? 
7. Do you find any blossoms with holes eaten in 
the corolla, where bumble-bees have stolen 
nectar before the flowers were fully de- 
veloped? 
8. Did the stamens mature before the pistils or 
vice versa? 
