Flowers and Gardens 



But what I wish more particularly to 

 notice now is the white callous tip of the 

 beak to which I have just alluded as fitting 

 it for piercing the ground. This is not a 

 mere temporary provision. It persists in 

 the full-grown leaf, and is common to many 

 of the Endogenous^ plants, being particu- 

 larly well seen in the Snowdrop, Daffodil, 

 and Hyacinth, in all of v/hich it resembles 

 a little waxen point. And how wonder- 

 fully it adds to the beauty of these plants ! 

 Every artist knows what a striking effect 

 can be given by a few well-placed dots to 

 a broken line. And just so is it here. 

 Their sparkling, dotty appearance makes 

 the Snowdrop clusters look interesting 

 and animated from the first moment that 

 their tips pierce the ground. And in 

 every later stage the leaves of both Snow- 

 drop and DafTodil would seem tame and 

 meaningless without it. But this is only a 

 very small part of the matter. The dot 

 has a much higher purpose than that of 

 merely giving pleasure to the eye by con- 

 trast, like dewdrops scattered over grass. 

 It is most essential for the thorough en- 

 joyment of beauty that we should get at it 



^ Endogenous plants are those whose leaves have 

 parallel veins like grasses, as distinguished from Exo- 

 genous plants, like Foxglove, &c., whose leaves are net- 

 veined. 



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