300 



. THAT'S IT ; 



We must not fail to observe 

 that the great intention of the 

 Creator in the structure of plants, 

 seems to be the perfecting of the 

 seed, and the preserving it until 

 it be perfected. This intention 

 shows itself by the care taken to 

 protect and ripen those parts 

 which contribute to fructification, 

 viz., the anthers, the pistils, and 

 the stamens. These parts are 

 usually lodged in the centre, the 

 recesses, of flowers. During their 

 tender and immature state they are 

 closed in the stalk, or sheltered in 

 the bud, 1 . As soon as they have 

 acquired firmness of texture suf- 

 ficient to bear exposure, they are 

 disclosed to the light and air, and 

 the flowers turn up, 3, or down, 4, 

 towards the sun, 2, or from it, 3, 

 according; to the state of the 



825. 



weather, and the degree of 

 strength acquired by those vital 

 parts, which are their tender 

 care. 



The pea, or papilionaceous 

 tribe, enclose the parts of fructi- 

 fication within a beautiful folding 

 of the internal blossom, called the 

 keel, while the whole is protected 

 under a penthouse formed by the 

 external petals, 727 ; and it is 

 highly interesting to remark that 

 all the blossoms turn their hacks 



to the wind, o, 

 whenever the 

 gale blows 

 strong enough 

 to endanger 

 the delicate 

 parts upon 

 which the 

 seeds depend. 

 Of the poppy, 6, and many similar 

 species of flowers, the head, while 

 it is grow- 

 ing hangs 

 down, 7, a 

 rigid curva- 1 

 ture in the 

 upper part 

 of the stem 

 giving to it 

 that direc- 

 tion, and in 

 that posi- 

 tion it is 

 impervious 

 to we t, 

 while it re- 826. 

 ceives from the exhalations of the 

 earth sufficient moisture for it? 

 nourishment. When the head, 9, 

 has acquired size and strength, 

 and is ready to open, the stalk, 8, 

 erects itself, for the purpose of 

 presenting the flower, and the 

 organs of fructification, to the 

 sun's rays. It cannot be said 

 that the stem bends by the weight 

 of the head, because it becomes 

 straightened when the head is 

 heaviest. 



Some flowers seek to turn their 

 discs, or faces, perpetually to the 

 sun. This is the case with the 

 sun-fnwer, which never ceases to 

 adore that orb, while the earth is 

 illuminated by its light. When 

 the great luminary rises^ the 



