THE 
AMERICAN NATURALIST 
Vor. XXVII. September, 1895. - ., 321 
: — ———— e EORPA AET ——— — ————— 
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THE PHILOSOPHY OF FLOWER SEASONS: 
By HENRY L. CLARKE 
The researches of recent botany have more than once sug- 
gested the vague outlines of a truth that, though manifestly 
requiring investigation, has as yet received but little definite 
expression. It is:—the philosophy that underlies the associa- 
tion of certain groups and types of flowering plants with 
certain definite seasons of the year; the principles that will 
show how this association accords with the “eternal fitness of 
things.” 
The subject is of broadly interesting scope, but its treatment 
requires caution because of the variety of somewhat conflicting 
considerations involved. Obviously the aim cannot be to find 
any single absolute principle that will cover all cases, but 
rather to make some broad general observations that shall 
embrace all the diverse circumstances and at the same time 
express each with greatest definiteness. The field for investi- 
gation must be clearly presented and have its data determin- 
able with certainty and completeness, and such can be found 
in the flora of the northern U. S., eastward from the Rockies. 
This has been more thoroughly studied than any other so 
large section of American flora, and is familiar to a large pro- 
portion of students. 
* Condensed for THE AMERICAN NATURALIST from a more extended thesis on the 
subject. 
* University of Chicago. 
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