XII 



The Daffodil 



IN the Snowdrop, Snowflake, and many- 

 similar plants, the spathe or sheath 

 out of which the flower arises has 

 a fresh leafy aspect, and shows no 

 symptom of decay till the plant has shed 

 its blossom. Again, in the Calla, or 

 Arum Lily of the greenhouses, and our 

 own native Cuckoo- Pint (^Arum macula- 

 turn), this spathe is so largely developed 

 as to constitute the most striking beauty 

 of the flower. Now there are certain 

 kinds of Narcissus, as the Daffodil and 

 Poet's Narcissus (popularly called " Phea- 

 sant's Eye "), which seem meant to attract 

 us by an especial freshness. In the 

 Daffodil, for instance, the leaves and 

 stem are of a full glaucous green, a 

 colour not only cool and refreshing in 

 itself, but strongly suggestive of water, 

 the most apparent source of freshness, 

 and constituting a most delicious ground- 

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