
          508.

our eyes wider open, to find any at all.  We saw how tightly closed
and upright the Sanguinaria held its petals; and how the Erythronium
held its, also tightly closed but downward; and how the Hepatica,
which, in a bright day, spreads its showy calyx wide open and
looks upward to the sky, to-day had its flowers curved gracefully
downward, close to its 3-leaved involuces[x] which was closed nicely
over the sepals <s>and</s> as they themselves were closed over the stamens
and pistils.  When we first saw the Hepatica <s>in this position</s>
we thought that the flowers <s>was</s> were only in this position, because the
rain had weighed them down; but no, this was not the case
the long scapes were standing almost as rigidly as on a day 
of sunshine and curved only near the flower.  We saw readily
how the flower was thus able to protect its pollen from the
rain which would soon spoil it.  This explains too, why the
flowers were not so easily seen.  The Dentaria behaved somewhat
like the Hepatica only the curving was in the pedicel of the
flower.  The Anemonella, alone, of all the flowers, seemed not
to mind the rain; there, it stood, wide open and as beautiful
as if the day were bright.  Then we were interested in
the birds <s>life</s>.  Quite a number were heard singing sweetly
        