Flowers and Gardens 



look like pearls set side by side. And 

 the circularity of each is more distinctly 

 seen by reason of the cup-like hollow- 

 ness, which holds a little shadow at the 

 bottom, with light playing round it in 

 resemblance of the lustre of a pearl. 



And now, if we look once more at that 

 crisped everted petal edge, we shall better 

 understand its meaning. If clear and 

 sharp it would not only be much less 

 piquant, but would give the flowers, from 

 the causes we have just been considering, 

 too regular and artificial an aspect. It 

 now detains the eye sensibly in passing 

 round the margin, preventing any possible 

 harshness of force, while it adds to the 

 pearly delicacy of the colour by chasing 

 it with shadows. This crisping, if I re- 

 member right, is scarcely noticeable in the 

 petals of the Scarlet Hawthorn, where the 

 colour would not require it. And finally, 

 this crisping guides the eye right to the 

 insertion of the petals, so that their round- 

 ness shall be most fully felt. Everything 

 about the Hawthorn looks clear, trans- 

 parent, and full of light. The petals of 

 the Sloe are very different — their round- 

 ness inclines somewhat more to the oval, 

 and their opaquer white is well calculated 

 for effect upon the darker leafless branches. 

 74 



