44 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 
droop, and thus save their treasures of pollen and 
honey from being injured by rain and dew. But 
the dandelion florets stare straight at the sky, and 
they come at a very rainy season. If Nature took 
no preventive measures, the gold and silver tubes 
would speedily resolve themselves into little water- 
jars; pollen and honey would be spoiled or washed 
away altogether, and the insect when he called 
would get nothing but disappointment. But the 
little blossoms are so constituted that during rainy 
weather and at night they close completely, and 
thus all their treasures are preserved. Before the 
dew begins to fall the dandelions in the grass 
seem to vanish. The florets in each yellow head 
are sleeping, and tucked into bed, too, for a ring 
of little leaves (botanists call it an involucre) which 
surrounds the mass of tiny blossoms has bent over 
so as to enclose and enfold them. 
The dandelions seem to have turned to buds 
again, and in their green outer covering they are 
undistinguishable from the surrounding grass and 
leaves. Their night’s rest is a long one. They 
rarely awaken before seven o’clock, even on a sun- 
shiny morning, and they close abeut five in the 
evening. 
An involucre is present in all the members of 
