214 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 
shade, they begin to swell. The green calyx 
splits in four places, disclosing four lines of gold 
which widen under our eyes. Then, with a start 
and a jerk, one narrow sepal draws backward, and 
the yellow corella is revealed. Little thrills go 
through the bud, like the slight movement of an 
awakening child. A second sepal draws backward, 
and then a third, and with an impulse of fully- 
aroused: life the flower bursts its last bond and 
opens wide, showing its heart of gold. A delicate 
perfume is shed abroad; and~-by this as well as 
by the gleam of yellow petals the moth is lured 
to the flower. 
There is a garden evening-primrose which opens 
in a most impressive manner, with a sudden flare of 
golden petals, and a slight pop, like that made by 
withdrawing a small but stubborn cork. But the 
wild evening-primroses open slowly, with little 
pauses and delays, as if they were half afraid to 
venture into the untried life before them. 
Along the Ohio valley and in the alluvial 
country westward (and in many places further 
east) the commonest night-flower is the Jamestown 
or jimson-weed (Datura stramonium) (Fig. 59). The 
vagabond habits of this dweller in waste ground, 
its rank, weedy aspect, and the disagreeable smell 
