THE EVENING PRIMROSE 



169 



of its abnormal shape — " the worm i' the bud," as 

 shown in my accompanying sketch — and what 

 an eloquent story of blighted hopes its interior 

 condition reveals ! This tiny whitish caterpillar 

 which we disclose in the petal dungeon has been 

 a prisoner since its birth, during the early growth 

 of the bud. One by one 

 the stamens and also 

 the stigma have been 

 devoured for food, until 

 the mere vestiges of 

 them now remain. With 

 no stamens to bequeath 

 pollen, and no stigma to 

 welcome other pollen, 

 what need to open ? 

 What need to elongate 

 a corolla tube for the 

 tongue of a moth whose 

 visit could render no functional service } So 

 thus our blighted buds refuse to open, where 

 blooming would be but a mockery. This tiny 

 caterpillar has a host of evening primrose blos- 

 soms laid to his door. When full grown he is 

 nearly a third of an inch in length, at which 

 time he concludes to leave his life -long abode, 

 which explains the "' hole " through the base of 

 the bud. If we gather a few of these buds 

 and place them in a small box, we may observe 



