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BUTTERCUP (Ranunculus acris). {Frontispiece.
THE
MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
Some tfjougfjts respecting Htfe, suggested 6g
tfje Booft of Mature
BY THE
Rev. HILDERIC FRIEND, F.L.S.
AUTHOR OF
"FLOWERS AND FLOWER LOKE," ETC., ETC.
LONDON
SWAN SONNE NSCHEIN & CO.
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1885
pert!):
S. COWAN AND CO., STRATHMORE PRINTING WORKS.
— gst
I ©etitcate
THIS LITTLE BOOK TO MY CHILDREN
IN RECOGNITION OF THEIR LOVE
OF THE BEAUTIFUL IN
NATURE.
1251641
S. COWAN AND CO., STRATHMQRE PRINTING WORKS.
,
-SS^J
THIS LITTLE BOOK TO MY CHILDREN
IN RECOGNITION OF THEIR LOVE
OF THE BEAUTIFUL IN
NATURE.
1251641
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
-«*Ca^5X(>x»-
BOOK I.
Inspecting Jjfuman Life.
THE BREVITY OF HUMAN LIFE,
LIFE IN ITS VIGOUR AND GLORY,
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE,
RETROGRESSION IN LIFE,
PROGRESS IN LIFE, .
CIRCULARITY IN LIFE,
THE TRANSMISSION OF LIFE,
THE AUTUMN OF LIFE,
THE TREE OF LIFE, .
Page
4
8
• 15
24
■ 37
• 49
• 56
. 65
. 76
BOOK II.
Bespeetmg the %v\U of %\U.
CORRUPTION OF LIFE,
THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL,
HYDRA-HEADED MONSTERS,
EVIDENCES OF THE FALL,
BREAKING THE LAW. .
97
IO4
III
121
vi CONTENTS,
BOOK III.
Bespeotwg the T$ujtuo$ of Life*
Page
ECONOMY OF PLANT LIFE, . . . . .136
LIBERALITY, , . . . . . . 151
HUMILITY, . . . . . . 164
RESTFULNESS, . . . . . . 17S
BOOK IV.
Bespecting Various ^atur t 6$ of IkiU.
PLANT MIMICRY, . . . . . -193
THE ART OF WINNING, ..... 207
PARASITISM, . . . , . ,' .218
SENSITIVENESS AND IRRITABILITY, .... 226
PREFACE.
iMiJB.
LOWERS ! How many a
sermon have they preached,
and how many a text
have they supplied ! The
Saviour says — " Consider
the Lilies how they grow,
they toil not, they spin
not ; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon
in all. his glory was not arrayed like one of
these " (Luke xii. 27). And centuries before He
uttered the parable of the Mustard-seed or of the
Fig-tree, Jotham had spoken as follows: "The
viii PREFACE.
trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over
them ; and they said unto the olive-tree, Reign
thou over us. But the olive-tree said unto them,
should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they
honour God and man, and go to be promoted over
the trees ? And the trees said unto the fig-tree,
Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig-tree
said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness,
and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the
trees ? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come
thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto
them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God
and man, and go to be promoted over the trees ?
Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come
thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said
unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over
you, then come and put your trust in my shadow ;
and if not, let fire come out of the bramble,
and devour the cedars of Lebanon " (Judges
ix. 8-15).
PREFACE. ix
Every true lover of flowers must have been struck
by the fact that these gems of earth are capable of
imparting large stores of knowledge, if only the
eyes are open to see, and the heart to receive them.
We cannot understand the narrowness of mind
which exists in some good people who love the
sight of the flowers as they grow in copse and
meadow, but cannot tolerate their use for charitable
or religious purposes. They allow wretched
imitations to adorn their houses in the shape of
wall-paper, and chimney ornament ; they allow the
sculptor to carve representations on the pillars of
the sanctuary, and they do not protest against their
symbolic use on stained glass or in the border of
some painted panel, bearing the Paternoster or the
Creed ; yet they will not admit the pure, innocent,
fragrant, and surpassingly lovely originals, as they
come direct from their Makers hands into His
sanctuary. But this unreasonable prejudice is
gradually giving way, and at stated times and
x PREFACE.
seasons in many places among several of the various
sections of the Christian Church, flower services,
and harvest thanksgivings, and other similar
gatherings for praise and adoration are being held,
and made attractive by the use of fruits and
flowers. Under these circumstances the thought
has frequently occurred — could not some further
interest be thrown into these gatherings by means
of the Ministry of Flowers? The following pages
supply some hints and suggestions which, it is
hoped, will enable many to answer that question
in the affirmative. The volume has been divided
into books, in order that the various lessons which
the flowers teach us might be the better arranged
in some definite order, and those matters which
seemed most appropriate for the use of such as
intend to give addresses on the subject are placed
first. For many years the study of flowers and
flower-lore has been the congenial pastime with
which I have relieved myself when wearied with
' PREFACE. xi
other labours, and I may therefore claim to have a
somewhat full acquaintance with the subject from
personal investigation. I owe much to those who
have written on kindred topics, and would here
especially refer to the suggestive works of Dr.
Taylor, Dr. Cooke, and others.
May this little work both lead to the further
study of the works of nature, and assist the reader
to love with greater intensity the great Creator of all
that is beautiful around us !
HILDERIC FRIEND.
BOOK I.
^oCOXd'»-
2§e OTunisrfr*? of Jfowers
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE,
-<>C\9X(>*»-
" Nature has a spiritual as well as a material side."
Rev. Hugh Mac mi! Ian.
BOOK I.
^umatt JLiU.
p% IFE is the first great concern
vj ^ of man. He is ever
considering what he
shall do in order to
ensure his further ex-
istence, and all that he
possesses will he give
for life. It is not there-
fore of unimportance
that we should inquire
— what do the flowers
say to « us respecting
this vital matter? And
though it may not be
to many a very cheery
thought with which to open a book on so bright a theme,
4 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
yet we are constrained to remark that the most important
lesson which we learn from flowers relates to
THE BREVITY OF HUMAN LIFE.
We will ponder well this solemn matter at the very
outset, for if we can dwell on it to our profit we shall
then be able to turn to other views of life with a light and
joyous heart. Let us hear first the messages which echo
through the ages, and find confirmation in every land.
" In the morning men are like grass which groweth up.
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up ; in the
evening it is cut down, and withereth " (Psalm xc. 5-6).
" As for man, his days are as grass : as a flower of the
field so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and
it is gone ; and the place thereof shall know it no more "
(Psalm ciii. 15-16). Christ speaks of " the grass of the
field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the
oven " (Matthew vi. 30). The Eastern oven is very
different from our own. I have seen them in China
made exactly after the same fashion as those employed in
Palestine, consisting of " a covered earthen vessel, wider
at the bottom than at the top, wherein bread [or small
cakes] was baked, by putting hot embers round it, which
produce a more equable heat than in the regular oven."
Here, too, as in the Holy Land, you will see the poor
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 5
women on the hill sides cutting down the rank grass and
flowers for burning in these jar-shaped ovens, for " the
wild flowers which form part of the meadow-growth, are
counted as belonging to the grass, and are cut down with
it. Cut grass," adds Dean Alford, "which soon withers
from the heat, is still used in the East for firing. " The
prophet tell us (Isaiah xl. 6), "The voice said, Cry. And
he said, What shall I cry ? All flesh is grass, and all the
goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field : The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth ; because the Spirit of the
Lord bloweth upon it : surely the people is grass. The
grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; but the word of our
God shall stand for ever." These words St. Peter quotes
and endorses also (1. Peter i. 24). But long before the
time of the prophet we find the patriarch Job exclaiming :
" Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of
trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down "
(Job xiv. 1-2). The Singer of Israel in his Prayer of the
Afflicted complains (Psalm cii. n), " My days are like
a shadow that declineth ; and I am withered like grass."
Nor is this the portion of the poor merely, for St. James
reminds us that the rich shall fade away as the flower of
the grass. . "For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning-
heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof
falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth ; so
also shall the rich man fade away in his ways " (James i.
6 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
n). In the East one cannot fail to observe how rapidly
the choicest vegetation, and most brilliant flowers, droop
and die. The intense heat of a tropical sun soon de-
prives the earth of its moisture, and carries of! the life-
giving and health-sustaining qualities hidden in the soil,
and nature all around wears a parched and sombre as-
pect. Nor is it to the sun alone that the early death of
the flower is due. The worm enters the plant as it did the
gourd which Jonah grieved over, and even the stately
Cocoa-Nut Palm bows its head and ceases to yield
its fruit when attacked by these destructive vermin.
Death in many instances is retarded by the timely de-
tection of the evil, and nimble lads are employed to
dig the worms out from the heart of the affected tree,
and so prolong its valuable life.
There are probably few of us who take any interest at
all in flowers — and who does not love them ? — who have
not observed that certain kinds exist only for a very brief
period. There are perennials whose life may be counted
by years ; there are annuals, whose work is done usually
in the course of a single summer ; and there are others
which spring up, blossom and die again in a very short
time. Then we are avv^are that though in many instances
the plant itself may live for a considerable time, the
flowers are very short-enduring. Thus we have all heard
of the Changeable Rose {Hibiscus mutabilis), so called
MALLOW.
[face p. 6.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 7
on account of the fact that though the flower, when first
it opens, is white, it soon changes to rose-colour, and then
to purple. In the West Indies all these changes take
place in the course of a single day, but when the plant is
brought to these climes a week is required for the pro-
cess. This flower is a native of the East Indies, from
which parts the French carried it to their settlements in
the West Indies, and to it they have given the character-
istic name of Fleur d'un heure. Another species oi
Hibiscus is the Venice Mallow, which is a native of Italy
and Austria, bears a purple and yellow flower, and was
formerly known in our English gardens as Good Night
at Noon. The quaint old herbalist, Gerarde, remarks
that u it openeth itselfe about eight of the clocke, and
shutteth up againe at noone, about twelve a'clock when
it hath received the beams of the sun, for two or three
houres, whereon it should seeme to rejoice to look, and
for whose departure, being then upon the point of declen-
sion, it seemes to grieve, and so shuts up the flowers that
were open, and never opens them againe ; whereupon it
might more properly be called Malva horaria, or the
" Mallow of an Houre." We have all observed how the
flowers of the Convolvulus have drooped at the close of
the day, and failed to raise their bell -shaped heads again.
MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
UT if the flowers speak in
solemn tones of the brevity of
human life, they also supply us
with many interesting illustra
tions of
LIFE IN ITS VIGOUR AND
GLORY.
Some flowers possess the
property of retaining their hue
and life-like appearance long
after they have been gathered, on which account
they have been called Everlasting Flowers. But of
these we must not now speak, as we wish to show
rather that there are many plants and trees which are
capable of withstanding the storms of centuries, till
eventually they become the very picture of majesty, and
so tell us of longevity. The reader will be aware that if
we have no historical means of telling when a tree was
planted, we can in many instances ascertain its age by
counting the rings formed by the annual production of
new wood. Now there are some trees whose age when
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 9
they died could not be much less than that of Adam or
Methuselah, and there are even instances of Yew trees
planted in England which have endured for centuries the
heat and cold, the sunshine and storm of our changeful
clime. Trees of such endurance will in many instances
be of enormous size, and as the cedar, the glory of
Lebanon, is frequently employed in Scripture as a
representative of great men, so the majestic Oak or stately
Sequoia may perform the same kind office. The prophet
in one or two instances couples together trees of various
kinds in order to represent persons of different degrees of
influence or position in life, as when he says — " The
glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the
pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of
my sanctuary ; and I will make the place of my feet
glorious" (Isaiah lx. 13). The Ash has been known to
reach to great proportions. What was supposed to be
the greatest tree of the kind in England was recently
felled at Aber, in North Wales, under instructions from
Lord Penrhyn, and we are told of one which used to
exist at Logierat which was sixty feet in height, and forty
feet in girth at a yard from the ground. Among
Oak trees, that known as the Cowthorpe measured at
its base seventy-eight feet, and was supposed to be some
sixteen centuries old. The Salcey Oak was computed to
have lived through one millennium and a half, and was
I o MINISTR Y OF FL O WERS
forty-six feet around its trunk ; while a Chestnut tree at
Tortsworth can be traced back over seven hundred
years, and is believed to be a thousand years old. It
measured some fifty feet or more around the stem. The
oaks of Sherwood Forest are still famous. Near Work-
sop, Notts, there formerly stood a tree, "which, in
respect both to its own dignity and the dignity of its situa-
tion, deserves honourable mention. In point of grandeur
few trees equalled it. It overspread a space of 90 feet,
from the extremities of its opposite boughs. These
dimensions will produce an area capable, on mathe-
matical calculation, of covering a squadron of 235 horse.
The dignity of its station was equal to the dignity of the
tree itself. It stood on a point where Yorkshire, Not-
tinghamshire, and Derbyshire unite, and spread its shade
over a portion of each. From the honourable station of
thus fixing the boundaries of three large counties, it was
equally respected through the domains of them all, and
was known far and wide by the honourable distinction of
the ' Shire Oak,' by which appellation it was marked
among cities, towns, and rivers in all the larger maps of
England." It is well known that in former times many
boundaries up and down the country were fixed by
means of trees, which, in virtue of their size and well-
defined position, would readily serve as landmarks, and
so come to be objects of interest, and even of respect.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE, 1 1
Everyone who pays a visit to the Dukeries, or roams
among the former haunts of brave old Robin Hood, is
expected to go to the " Parliament Oak," which, in the
form of a crumbling fragment, stands on the brow of a
gentle hill in the neighbourhood of the old hunting-seat
of King John. This famous tree is supposed to be up-
wards of a thousand years old, and though its decayed
form can only be kept together by means of props and
supports it had once a majestic and beautiful form.
Tradition says that on one occasion, while Edward I.
and a noble and princely band of followers were hunting
in Sherwood Forest, a messenger arrived in haste, bearing
the unwelcome news that Wales was in open revolt, and
must beat once brought into subjection again, or endless
mischief would ensue. Promptly the monarch gathered
around him his knights and followers, and the proud oak
afforded them shelter as they discussed in open council
the subject of the hour, and under its majestic form the
knights, with true and loyal feeling, declared themselves
willing and determined to support their sovereign in his
attempts to suppress the insurrection, and stamp out the
evil. One oak in this forest was some years ago made
into a kind of triumphal arch, by being cut through the
stem in such a w T ay that a carriage could be driven
through it ; and this reminds us of a famous tree in
Normandy, which, a century and a half ago, was con-
r 2 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
verted into a place of worship, and went by the name of
the Chene Chapelle. Its trunk was at that time hollow,
and its head partly decayed. Having been paved and pro-
vided with a roof, this unique building was divided into
two apartments, the lower of which, by the liberality of
the Abbe du Detroit, was fitted up as a chapel, while
the upper formed a chamber for the officiating priest !
This Oak is about equal in size to the Ore en dale Oak, to .
which I have just referred, the arch through which is
several inches higher than the entrance to Westminster
Abbey, known as the Poets' Postern, under which men
pass on horseback, and through which carriages are said
to have been driven. So famous is this oak in the neigh-
bood of the forest that several towns and villages have
an inn bearing the painted sign of the Greendale Oak.
Reference may here be made to one or two other remark-
able trees, whose age and size may be regarded as fit
emblems of the glory and dignity of human life. Seven
centuries ago the Great Chestnut of Tamworth (or Trots-
worth) was referred to in writings, which are still in exist-
ence, as a signal tree; and if in the year 1135 a.d. it
already merited the title of " The Great Chestnut,'' it is
not difficult to believe that in its youth it was contemporary
with the Saxon Egbert, and has witnessed the fortunes
and failures of a thousand years. The famous Chestnut
of the Hundred Horse, which formerly existed on Mount
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE, 13
Etna, is an historical marvel. One writer asserts that its
ruined trunk gave proof of having measured a hundred
and sixty feet ; and the fact that the peasants built a
house within it, in which they had an oven for drying
chestnuts, is the strongest evidence of the truth of this
calculation. Its name of Castagno di Cento Cavalli is
said to have been derived from the circumstance that
Jean of Arragon and her attendants, who numbered
one hundred nobility on horseback, obtained shelter from
it during a storm which overtook them on Etna. It
must suffice that I here mention the Baobabs merely as
further illustrations of the enormous size and age
attained by trees in some parts of the globe. The
Sequoias of California are world renowned. The wood
is very light, and the trunks tower away above the head
of the traveller, till they seem to be lost in the clouds.
Imagine a tree which at 400 years of age is still but in its
youth, and which does not begin to tremble with age
before it has stood a thousand years ! These famous
trees grow on the slopes of the mountains, and are kept
supplied with the best of food in the shape of minute
particles of fertilizing rocks, pulverised by the weather,
and the decayed vegetation of ages. And what we
should suppose Noah or Enoch to have been — rugged
and majestic in their latter-day glory — such are these trees.
" There is no symmetry in his top, or delicacy and grace
i 4 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
in his outline ; he has battled and struggled with the
storm for too many centuries to preserve an artistic
appearance. He looks the giant of the forest, broad-
rooted and strong-limbed, rough and weather-beaten, but
defying snow and frost and hurricane for thousands of
years, and sheltering bird and beast and cattle beneath
his grand shadow." One tree known as the " Old Maid,"
in the Calaveras grove, was about 1370 years of age, and
had a delicate waist of upwards of a hundred feet in cir-
cumference. It took three men the long period of
twenty-five days to cut her down, which they did by
boring the trunk with augers. From three to four
hundred feet is the average height of these botanical
wonders, and who can look at them or think of them
without exclaiming, "How w r onderful are Thy works,
O Lord." We leave the reader to consult such works as
relate to our woodlands and forest trees for further
particulars, and he will experience no difficulty in finding
many records of trees equally • remarkable for size with
those w r e have briefly enumerated.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE.
15
T will scarcely be from such
trees as I have been de-
scribing that we shall find
illustrations of our next
subject, which relates to
THE STRUGGLE FOR
LIFE,
These seem to have as
thoroughly established them-
selves in their present posi-
tion by the right of long
possession as it is possible
for them to do, and it will
be a hardy race of warriors that will be able to bear away
the Palm from the gigantic Sequoia, or the robust Oak.
But if we descend from the lofty heights to which our mus-
ings have led us, and now pursue the study of the minuter
forms of life, we shall find that there are the most palpable
indications on every hand that a mighty struggle for life
has been, and still is, going on. And, indeed, how can it
be otherwise ? The earth is limited in its extent, and
16 MINISTR Y OF FLOWERS
cannot possibly produce beyond a given number of
plants, that number being regulated by the size and
qualities of the various individuals. In a plot of ground
twelve feet square you might grow some fifty cabbage
plants, and a thousand weeds would thrive apace. But
plant a Yew tree or two, or set a graceful Fir in the
centre, and these would soon exterminate the rabble
which sought a resting place at their feet. Here in very
truth the battle is to the strong, and the race to the swift,
and strength and fleetness are constantly being called into
action. I shall have by-and-bye to dwell on progression
and retrogression in life, so shall not here refer to the
recent discussions of various botanists and evolutionists
in respect to the inherent properties possessed by plants,
but shall at once proceed to give some facts in illustration
of our present subject — the struggle for existence. We
find it in the world of nature everywhere. Never was it
fiercer or more intense than now in the business and
political worlds, never, perhaps, more marked than now
in the religious world, and it is quite certain that the
struggle is as strong to-day among the lower animals and
plants as ever it was. The world is just composed of an
innumerable army of parasites. If you catch a shark
you find a lesser fish living on the monster's skin ! If you
kill a pigeon or a fowl you will find it alive with insects,
some of which are the hosts of other minuter creatures !
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 17
If you pluck a nettle you will find a thousand fungi
{AZcidium) feeding on its leaves, and the Oak is laden
with mosses and lichens and insects of a hundred different
kinds ! Does not all this indicate that life is earnest, and
that in order to sustain it, everything must adapt itself as
best it may to the circumstances in which it is found ?
This adaptation to circumstances is very marked in
the flower world, and abundance of fruitful lessons may
be learned by observing the methods employed. We
must not overlook the fact that the flower and tender
plant have as many enemies as man himself, and that
they have to hold themselves in readiness to meet these
opposing forces. Sometimes the enemy of a slender
flower is to be found in a stronger rival which thought-
lessly thrusts its broad leaf or coarse stem right over the
tender bud or blossom of its humbler sister. Sometimes
it is a tree or hedgerow, a bank, rock, river, or lake which
comes in the way, and throws the plant into new circum-
stances which necessitate one of two things — ignominious
death, or altered form. Sometimes as a protection against
animals the plant defends itself, for on its power to do
this does its continued existence depend. Have you not
observed that the Holly usually bears leaves with strong
spines or prickles all about its lower part, while these
unpleasant appendages are wanting or are greatly softened
and modified on the upper boughs where they run no
1 8 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
risk of being browsed ? Its struggles to exist when sur-
rounded by quadruped foes led to this device, and similar
devices can actually be traced historically in the develop-
ment of many plants which have had to stand on the
defensive. Look for example at the Nettle. Who has
not felt the influence of its sting as he has thrust his hand
into the hedge for a nest, or has been searching in the
bank for some coveted flower ? Now the sting of the Nettle
is evidently a device by means of which the plant is able to
keep at bay some of its greatest enemies, and so secure
an existence in the world during the great race of life.
The Hedgehog and the Nettle would go well together, and
we might then couple together the Porcupine and the
Great Nettle found in Sumatra, the effects of whose
poison are such that weeks of suffering have resulted to
the unwary botanist or native who has been so unfortunate
as to grasp the ill-natured thing. Many people defend
themselves in a similar way, and we do not wonder that
they are allowed to live on while many gentler and
worthier spirits succumb to the influences under which
they live, and fall in the battle of life.
Along with the prickly Holly and the stinging Nettle,
we may rank the various kinds of Thorns, Briars, and
Thistles with which we meet in this, and other lands.
The golden Furze, the rich and showy Hawthorn, the
Blackthorn, and several other rosaceous flowers, including
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 19
the Dog-rose and Bramble, the Raspberry and Goose-
berry, the Restbarrow, and a hundred other plants, adopt
a similar method of defending life and property from the
assaults of animal foes.
In many instances the fruit, upon the germination of
which the continued existence of the family depends, is
encased in a horny, woody, or prickly covering. Every
boy who has picked up the chestnuts which fall in autumn
from the trees remembers how the finely pointed needles
from the outer case have entered his fingers and defied
all attempts at dislodgment. The leathern inner cover-
ing of the chestnut, horse-chestnut and acorn are similar
protections, and being of a rich brown colour they may
easily lie undetected among the autumn foliage and decay-
ing vegetation until they have found a congenial spot for
growth and then put forth their plumule and roots. On
the other hand we find many kinds of fruit, especially
those which we know as stone-fruit, encased in a soft pulpy
covering which is particularly agreeable to birds and
animals, and leads to their being devoured and carried
away to a favourable spot where the uninjured kernel is
ejected and assisted in its growth by its congenial sur-
roundings. It is thus that the Sloe, Cherry, Yew, Haw-
thorn, and many other plants are able to establish them-
selves in new places and so keep up their family name.
Certainly in the sharp struggle for life the lesson thus
20 MINISTR Y OF FL WERS
afforded is a very pleasing one, and we have reason
to believe that many have been able to fare well in days
that have gone by adopting a policy similar to this.
One of the most ingenious devices with which we are
acquainted, and one which is familiar to every one who
has ever been in the country, is that which we find most
largely employed by the flowers of the Composites, such
as the Dandelion, Groundsel, and Thistle. When the
seeds are ripe we find them on a fine dry day taken up
by the wind and borne to a great distance, there to be
dropped in the hope that they will find a spot in which
to grow. The seeds are sustained in their flight by a
very ingenious arrangement of the Pappus as it is called,
which spreads out in the form of an umbrella and so
catches the passing breeze and glides merrily away. In
the Tragopogon this arrangement is of so striking a
character that the plant has in consequence acquired the
name of Goat's-beard. But I need do no more than refer
the reader to his own experience, and he will instantly call
to mind the Dandelion " clock," and the way in which
the hour of the day was ascertained by blowing at the
seeds till they yielded to the force of a mouth-made hurri-
cane and betook themselves to some distant spot. In
some plants we find a still further attempt to secure a
footing in the earth, and one which must lead us to ad-
mire the wisdom of the Being who created the plants,
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 21
and endued them with these qualities, or at any rate
placed within them the inherent potentialities, which, as
occasion serves, they have developed or evolved. Every-
one knows the curious Horse-tail, as the Equisetum is
called. It looks very like a tail standing on the stout end
and bristling all over with stiff hairs. This plant has
a peculiar method of producing fruit and propagating it-
self, and in some points it comes near the fern in its
generative apparatus. What is usually spoken of as its
fructifying organs form a cone or spike at the extremity
of certain of the branches, the barren and fertile forms
being easily distinguished by this means. This cone con-
sists of a cluster of shield-like disks, each of which bears
a circle of spore-cases which open longitudinally in order to
set free the spores or rudimentary buds, by means of which
the plant is multiplied. Now each of these spores has
attached to it, a pair of elastic filaments, that are origin-
ally formed as spiral fibres on the interior of the wall of
the primary cell within which the spore is generated, and
are set free by its rupture ; these are at first coiled up
closely around the spore, but on the slightest application
of moisture they suddenly extend themselves, so that
when they fall to the ground and are brought into contact
with any moist body, they throw out their grappling-hooks
and fix themselves upon the spot. The study of these
spores under the microscope is intensely interesting, and
22 MINISTR Y OF FL O WERS
if a friend breathes upon them while the examination is
going on, their elastic motion may be watched and studied
to perfection. Without these elaters the spores would
stand as poor a chance of being able to exist in the midst
of so much competition as would the seed of the Dande-
lion or Thistle without the valuable aid of its pappus. That
life is a struggle may easily be seen by the fact that not only
have many plants become dwarfish and insignificant as
the ages have rolled by, giving place to others of more
vigorous type and daring habit as we shall see in the chap-
ter on retrogression, but also from the circumstance that
many plants have given up the contest altogether, and
now exist only in the herbarium of some museum, or in
the stone cabinets of the earth in the form of fossils. It
has fared with plants as with animals, and the same holds
true respecting families and races of men, while some
have by dint of perseverance, hard work, and a good deal
of scheming and contriving managed to hold their own
and even to make rapid advances, others have had to
give up their territory inch by inch and foot by foot,
until at last they have been fairly beaten and could try
no longer.
I have mentioned but two or three methods by which
the end of life is gained ; many others might be enumer-
ated. Some plants, for example, continue to exist because
they are possessed of some virulent poison or juice, or
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 23
are so sticky that their enemies are kept by them at arm's
length. I well remember some years ago finding a beauti-
ful spurge in a Devonshire lane and plucking its fruit as
I walked along in order that I might taste the quality of
the capers. For some hours my tongue and throat
suffered from the irritation, so powerful was the property
it contained.
24 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
ESPITE the earnest efforts which are
made by the flowers and plants to
hold their own, we see sad evi-
dences of
RETROGRESSION IN LIFE
on every hand, and to this matter we
will now give some attention. Everyone will remember
the stir which was made a few years ago by the publication
of certain works bearing on the subject of Evolution, and
the Survival of the Fittest. Now the very word " survival"
implies the idea of failure, and if the fittest only survive,
the weakest must of necessity gradually be overcome
and crowded out. The doctrine of Evolution in its
widest application includes degeneration or retrogression
as well as development or progression. Dr. Taylor well
says that the vegetable kingdom is not less fruitful than
the animal in proofs of this law " that, while the main
mass of living organisms have throughout geological time
advanced to higher ground, some have stood still, or
merely ' marked time/ and others have gradually lost
ground and dropped out of the ranks. Some of the
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 25
latter have honestly struggled to keep up the step, and
have found themselves unable ; others have done so
only by diplomacy and cunning, or by the development
of qualities even more sinister" ("Sagacity and Morality of
Plants," p. 207). Look, for example, at the Horsetails
(Equisetum). As known to us to-day this group of
curious plants is of diminutive stature and circumference,
yet, if we trace them back to earlier times by means of
their fossil representatives, we find that at a certain
period they measured from six inches to a foot in
diameter ; while they gradually assume in the older
strata an arboreus form, and may be regarded as actual
trees, just in the same way as our so-called tree moss,
which grows some six inches high, is to be seen on the
hills around Canton (China) reaching almost to the
dignity and dimensions of a shrub. Some of the so-called
moss-ferns of geological times are of immense size, their
modern representatives being mere dwarfs and pigmies
beside the earlier race of giants. One writer has summed
up our knowledge of fossil plants in the following words,
which, though written half a century ago, are still found
to be true : " First, in the oldest strata in which land
plants occur, Ferns are met with in the greatest abund-
ance. Secondly, their absolute numbers and relative
proportions become wonderfully diminished in the
superior formations, until, in the later series, they are
26 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
comparatively scarce. Thirdly, not only is their numerical
strength astonishingly lessened, but they are still more
remarkably reduced in size." (" Outlines of Botany,"
p. 34.T.) If I appeal to Mr. Carruthers for his testimony
in this matter, his words will be worthy the warmest
reception, for we have few higher authorities on the
subject of fossil plants. He tells us {Contemporary
Review, February, 1877, p. 401) : "The later Palaeozoic
rocks abound in plant remains. The first evidence of
land-plants is found in the Devonian rocks ; and here, at
their appearance, the three principal groups of the
vascular cryptogams appear together in highly differen-
tiated forms. All of these — Ferns, Horsetails, and
Lycopods — possess the same essential structure and
organization as their living representatives, and in all the
subordinate points in which they differ from them it is in
the possession of characters indicative of higher organiza-
tion, whether we look at the vegetative or the reproductive
organs, than are found in existing forms. Thus among
Ferns there is lost a remarkable group with a funda-
mentally different type of structure, which was contem-
poraneous in the Palaeozoic ages with the types of Ferns
that have been represented all through the epochs, and
are now abundant on the globe. The Equisetacese had
a large number of generic groups ; their stems were
arborescent, the leaves large, and the fruit comes pro.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 27
tected by special scales ; but the spores were similar in
size and form to those of the living Horsetails, and were
even furnished with hygrometric elaters [see p. 21].
The Lycopods were also huge trees, and were represented
by several generic groups. The stem structure, while
fundamentally agreeing, like that of the aborescent Equise-
taceae, with the stems of the living forms, was more com-
plex, being suited to their aborescent habit." There
were giants in those days, and we are forcibly reminded
of the Bible records from which we learn that in former
times men attained a much greater stature and age than
they do at present. As animals and plants have increased
in number they have gradually diminished in size ; and
while in some instances this diminution has only resulted
in the further concentration and development of existing
powers, in others it has been followed by decay and
retrogression. These results are in some instances trace-
able to what are called natural causes. We all know
what an influence climate has upon plants and animals.
There must have been a time, judging from the fossil
plants which we find in England and Europe, when the
climate of this island and continent was very different
from what it is to-day. Now if plants which luxuriate in
heat and moisture, and can only thrive to perfection in a
natural hot-bed, are gradually placed in a colder and less
congenial atmosphere and soil, they will develop much
28 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
less rapidly, and will eventually become dwarfed and in-
conspicuous. In this way some of the facts before us are
to be accounted for. We see this in the case of the Ferns,
for while those which grow in our own land are usually
small, we see them attaining the dignity and importance
of trees in other lands where the climate is more con-
genial. One of the most interesting signs of retrogres-
sion may be found in the fact that whereas some of oui
commonest flowers once boasted the full number of
floral appendages in the form of sepals and petals, they
have been compelled to give up some of these luxuries,
just as a gentleman who has " seen better days " will have
to part with his butler, coachman, and horses, when
reverses come upon him. I one day picked up a speci-
men of the field Speedwell ( Veronica agrestis), and was
interested by observing that, instead of four petals — the
ordinary number found in this plant — there were but
three; and since the one that was missing is usually
paler than the other three, the loss was compensated for
by the manner in which two of the trio here found were
shaded off to a lighter colour near their margins, which
occupied the position of the missing petal ! Here was a
plant which had formerly been keeping four servants,
three with a light blue livery, and one with a suit of grey.
But the latter had been dispensed with, and his livery
divided among two of the remaining number, one only of
LYCOPODIUM.
[face p. 28.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE, 29
the retinue — the upper servant — still retaining its original
position and dignity !
In China, one constantly sees exposed for sale, on the
little street stalls, a dirty-looking nut, about an inch long,
which is very largely bought by the poor people, who take
off the outer covering, and amuse themselves with chew-
ing the kernel.* This is the curious Ground-nut (Arachis
hypogcea), or Earth-pea, quite different, however, from our
English Ground-nut (Buniiim fZexiwsum), or Pig-nut, as
we perhaps more frequently call it. The English plant
bears an edible root, or tuber, which may be found at the
depth of two or three inches under-ground, and is much
prized by school children. But in China, the nut is the
fruit. In this curious plant, the uppermost flowers are
barren and sterile, those alone bearing fruit which grow
on the trailing or procumbent branches near the ground.
After the blossoms have fallen, the stalks or peduncles
elongate, so that, when the pods enlarge, the stem on
which they grow is long enough to allow of their being
buried beneath the surface of the soil. This plant is a
native of America, the West Indies, and Africa, but is
largely cultivated elsewhere, for the sake of the oil which
its nuts contain. Let the foregoing facts be borne in
mind for a moment, while we look at a similar pheno-
* Called "Monkey-nuts" in England, where they are now sold
in the same way, and for similar purposes.
30 M1NISTR Y OF FLO WERS
menon in our English Flora, and seek for the key to the
mystery. Along by the sea-side near St. Leonards, I re-
cently found a plant which has long been looked upon
with wonder. It is one of the Clover family {Trifolium
subterraneum), as the leaves at once tell us. Now, the
Latin name subterraneum is exactly equivalent to the
Greek hypogcea^ both meaning " under-ground ; " and this
designation has been applied to the plant from the fact
that, as the three delicate white flowers, of which the head
usually consists, begin to wither, they turn downwards to
the ground. From the end of the peduncles, there are
produced a number of white fibres, arranged in the form
of a star. These are, in reality, abortive calyces, " like
small waxen hands with fingers out-spread," as the Rev.
H. Wood aptly says. Within these calyces are the seed
pods, or legumes, enclosed as if in a cage, to prevent
their being lost ; and, as the peduncles bend toward the
ground, the pods finally work themselves under the soil,
where they lie buried till the time for germination arrives.
So small is this plant that you may easily walk over it
without knowing of its existence ; and it is only by
searching for it that you will be able to find the slender
wax-like blossoms, and observe the curious history of the
plant. Now, why should these plants be so curiously
constructed ? The fact that they are nearly related to
showy and imposing papilionaceous flowers — some of
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 31
which arrive at the dignity of trees— leads us to infer that
they have been gradually receding from their former more
exalted position, and have by degrees developed this happy
method of retaining their hold upon the soil, when they
would otherwise have been exterminated^ltogether. This
idea is further substantiated by the facts that we are daily
becoming more familiar with, respecting the devices
adopted by a great number of humble plants, whose re-
latives proclaim them to be fallen members of noble
families. Thus, in Madagascar, we find an under-ground
pea (Cryptolobus), the seeds of which are boiled and eaten
while still unripe. These peas are produced in pods,
which are buried beneath the soil, just as those of the
Arachis and Trifolium are. It is not a great step from
the Clover to the Wood-sorrel (Oxalis), for both have
trifoliate leaves ; and the honour of being identified with
the Irish Shamrock is equally shared between them. The
Wood-sorrel, or Cuckoo-sorrel, is a plant too well known
to need any description. In our own country, it blossoms
about the time when the cuckoo arrives, and as it prefers
the shady wood and hedge-bank — where, as yet, few in-
sect visitors are to be found — it stands but a poor chance
of being fertilized by their agency. Now, if it failed in
this, it must either die out and become extinct, or provide
for the contingency. This interesting plant has acquired
more than one method of keeping up its stock, and that
32 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
which specially concerns us here relates to the production
of what are called cleistogamic flowers. These may be
looked upon as ordinary flowers, which have been arrested
in their growth, and which contain within themselves all
the properties necessary for self-fertilization, so that, with-
out opening, they can ensure the production of seeds,
which shall produce in their turn a new progeny of plants.
You will find these cleistogamic flowers also in the Violet,
and, a little later on, you will observe seed-vessels, loaded
with polished seeds, ripening at the ends of peduncles,
which deposit their burden on the soil, close to the parent
plant, and so perform their task. The question arises —
" Why, if these plants have properly-organized and fully-
developed flowers — as we know the Violet and Wood-
sorrel to possess — why should it be necessary for them to
grow fruit on the sly ? " The study of a large number of
different plants — their habits, manner, and time of flower-
ing, and other similar details — enables us to conclude that,
where plants have had to adopt these devices, it is evidence
of retrogression. If a gentleman of your acquaintance,
who once kept a large establishment, and carried on a
brisk trade, now comes to you, and solicits your orders
for a pound of tea or a cheese, you begin to think things
are going wrong. You never knew him do so before.
His well-stocked and smartly-arranged windows sufficed
for advertisements. But now, grocers have multiplied,
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 33
the customers are divided, and yet other methods than
mere shop-window advertisement must be adopted. So
with the flowers. If they cannot keep pace with the keen
competition for the visits of insects, they must gain their
living in other ways which are consistent with the dignity
of their family and position. It has been truly remarked
that, " in this bitter fight with poverty, there is a touching
episode savouring of humanity. As much of the old show
is kept up as the plant can possibly afford, and there are
few species which do not bear ordinary flowers, as if
nothing were the matter ; whilst the dwarfed and aborted
cleistogamic flowers are hidden out of sight at the bases
of the clustering leaves, as though the plant were anxious
they should not be seen. The best face possible is put
on the case, and often not without good results, for the
occasional crossing which the conspicuous flowers of these
plants get enables the seeds to gain back some of their
old vigour, or to stay off the evil days of extinction, in
which pure cleistogamism might end. The conspicuous
flowers are not borne every year by some plants : they
cannot afford such a luxury ; and one or two known kinds
bear flowers which are of no good whatever, for they are
never found fertile ; so, in their case, we must regard the
habit as a survival, or as an indisposition to give up the
old floral life and rank." (" Sagacity and Morality of
Plants," p. 223.) We may take it for granted that, as a
34 ministry of flowers
general rule, all those flowers which depend on self-ferti-
lization are incapable of progression ; and when, from
cross-fertilization by the agency of insects they revert to
the older method of producing seeds, they are already on
the decline.
But I will now call attention to another fact in refer-
ence to this subject, and we shall see that not only does
geology prove that some plants have been gradually de-.
generating, nor are we taught it alone by the study of
those flowers which have contracted the habit of produc-
ing cleistogamic flowers. We find another evidence in
the colours of the petals or blossoms which some
flowers produce. In my garden I last year planted a
number of very choice Pansies, and was delighted with
their gay appearance. When I put them in the border,
I took care so to arrange them that the darker colours
should alternate with the lighter. But as we were sitting
at the window one day a friend remarked — "Why, you
have put all your light Pansies on one side of the bed,
why did you not mix them ? " I was startled, for there
was no denying the fact that all the blossoms produced
by the Pansies to the northward, where the sun seldom
shone, had lost their rich colour, and had dwindled down
to the most ordinary and unattractive flowers. It was
not long before I found that every plant in the bed had
degenerated in the same way, and the flowers were now
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 35
exactly like the common wild Pansy, except that the
petals were larger ! Sometimes this degradation or re-
trogression is due to the soil, either it is too poor or too
calcareous, or possesses too much clay. Thus you will
find Hepaticas revert from pink, lilac, or blue, to white on
a given soil, and take up the original colour if retrans-
planted to the original soil. This will account in large
measure for the different tints we find in our wild, and
especially sweet Violets. I know a part of Oxford-
shire in which sweet Violets, ranging from the richest
blue to the most delicate white, through a curious lilac
and rose, may be found in successive strata so to
speak, each variety being peculiar to a given soil and for-
mation. Near Hurstmonceux Castle I found last
year a number of most charming white Bluebells !
Indeed such freaks are very common among flowers
whose normal colour is blue. So too we find red flowers
becoming white, and many a child has gone home with a
perfect prize when he has found a white Herb-Robert
{Geranium robertianum). Of course the fact is more
striking as you study the changes to which the highest
orders and most thoroughly developed plants are liable.
You do not notice the fall of a poor man as you do that of
a wealthy land owner, whose carriages have daily passed
your door, and whose bright-liveried servants have always
been conspicuous objects. So we do not as readily ob-
36 MINIS TR Y OF FL WERS
serve the retrogression of such small flowers as Speed-
wells, and Violets, and Pimpernels, as of Dahlias and
Asters and Chrysanthemums. As everyone is familiar
with the Primrose, both in its wild and cultivated states,
I may ask the reader to observe for himself the way in
which the petals of this flower change their colour. A
plant which you have placed in a certain soil and situa-
tion will bear flowers of waxy whiteness, but its twin
sister will produce blossoms of a dingy lilac.
Many other facts might be adduced, and the few illu-
strations here given might be indefinitely multiplied, but
the object I wish to keep in view is rather the stim-
ulation of thought and observation than the supply of
all the matter which is at hand. Those who keep their
eyes open, and make notes of such facts as come under
their own notice as they ramble by the hedgerows or
spend an hour in their flower garden, will soon find that
they have food for meditation and profitable reflection,
which will not easily be exhausted, and no more instruc-
tive lesson will be learned than that on which we have
here been dwelling, that in life everything has its reverses,
and that men, as well as the lower animals and plants,
are liable to such changes as their skill and industry will
prove insufficient, without a higher power, to meet.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE.
37
E may now turn to a more congenial
topic, and see what the flowers teach
us respecting
PROGRESS IN LIFE.
In the study of this subject we are on
firm ground ; for everyone is aware
that the flowers and plants we see
around us are in many instances the
proud and dignified descendants of
less showy and serviceable ancestors.
The Apple, Plum, and Nut can be
traced back to the Crab, the Sloe, and
the Hazel, which were formerly the
sole representatives of many of the
wonderful varieties of fruit we are now
able to produce in such profusion. The gardener, by cultiva-
tion, cross-fertilization, forcing, dwarfing, pruning, budding,
grafting, and a number of other skilful devices, has been
able to work wonders in the world of nature, and what has
been done for our cultivated fruits and flowers has also
been done in many instances in a wild state by the flowers
38 MINISTRY Of FLOWERS
themselves. The scientific floriculturist follows out the
s laws which he finds already existing, and which he has
seen in operation among the highest kinds of plants, and
like causes give like results. The fertilization of a flower
by its own pollen tends to keep it in its present state, or
may prove detrimental, hence flowers are in many in-
stances cross-fertilized. This fact the gardener is familiar
with, and acting upon the laws he finds in operation
around him, he places the pollen of one choice flower
upon the pistil of another, and so secures a strong suc-
cession of plants which in many instances differ in colour,
form, and quality from their ancestors. Now progress in
life may be illustrated in a variety of ways. We might
refer to the colours of the flowers, the size and variety of
the fruits, their rich quality, their hardiness or delicacy,
the endurance of the plants, their increased size, the
number of their descendants, their advancing adaptation
to meet their own requirements and to secure the best
attention of the insects which wait upon them, and other
similar topics ; and from these we should learn how we
might act in order to further the great ends of life.
Let us begin with the colours of flowers, since these
supply us a ready means of showing how development
and progress are brought about. The simplest colours
are white and yellow. You will be' struck by this fact
as you begin in the spring time to collect plants for your
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 39
herbarium, or as you go out to gather the first nosegay
of vernal blossoms. Among the white flowers, some of
which will perhaps show pink tips to their petals, you will
find the Daisy, Chickweed, Whitlow Grass {Draba verna\
Snowdrop, Violet, Dead Nettle, Rue-leaved Saxifrage
{Saxifraga tri dactylites)^ Christmas Rose (Helleborus
niger), Shepherd's Purse, and other early flowers. Your
nosegay will include such yellow flowers as the Lesser
Celandine {Ranunculus ficarid)^ Daffodil, Dandelion,
Crocus, to which you will gradually add the Yellow
Thistles, Goatsbeard, Groundsel and its congeners,
Yellow Flag, Hawkweeds, and a whole host of others.
Now in many instances it will be found either that these
flowers are self-fertilized, or are propagated by means of
their roots (as in the Iris and Daisy. Crocus and Daffo-
dil, Snowdrop and Violet), or, if visited by insects at all,
only enjoy the favourable notice of tiny creatures which
can venture out earlier in the season than the butterfly or
bee. This is not by any means the case with all white
and yellow flowers \ for the evening Campion, evening
Primrose, and other similar flowers, blossom at night and
are visited by moths which are led direct to the blossoms
needing fertilization by means of their light colour and
grateful perfume. Still we may say that, as a rule, yellow
and white are the simplest colours and may be found as-
sociated with plants of the lowest orders. By this we do
40 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
not mean plants of tiny growth, for, curiously enough,
some of the floral pigmies of our own and other lands
stand very high in the ranks and give evidence of careful
attention to the laws of progress. Ascending in the scale
of colours we come to pink, red, blue, and purple, as well
as to orange, and such as are parti-coloured and varie-
gated. In the case of several families of plants, we find
that the various representatives bear various uniforms, and
generally the larger flowers bear the brightest and most
attractive colours. If you study these flowers in groups.
you will frequently notice that small flowers, low colour
forms, and self-fertilization go together ; while large
plants, bright blossoms, and fertilization by insects go
hand in hand. Take the English wild Geraniums by
way of illustration, and from the tiny and unsavoury Herb-
Robert, to the gaudy and elaborately devised meadow
Geranium (G. firatense), what a grand advance do we
observe ! If colour is the standard, what progress has
been made in the development of flowers from the simple,
old-fashioned, scarlet Geranium of the cottage window to
the new and " improved " varieties yearly advertised in
the catalogues of our leading florists. The moral is —
cultivate your powers; rub your intellects against your
neighbours' ; take some of their pollen to fertilize the
flowers of your imagination, and give them some of yours
foi a similar purpose. A man who evolves out of his
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 41
own little self, his own stock, lives upon it, dies with it,
and neither borrows nor lends, gives nor takes, may be
great in his own eyes, but he becomes an object of disre-
gard and even scorn to his neighbours.
Even to-day there are many people who have not
learned to appreciate the potency of evolution. They
have somehow been misled into the idea that to embrace
the doctrine of evolution means shelving the Deity. It
is a profound mistake. Rightly viewed, the doctrine of
evolution does not detract from the power of God or His
divinity (Romans i. 20), in the least, it rather leads us
to wonder at, and admire the wisdom of the Being who
could store up within the creatures of His hand such
marvellous potentialities. If we say that the inhabitants
of the Friendly Islands have become changed from
savages and brutes to men and Christians, that they have
evolved some noble qualities and are now a credit to
themselves and the world, we do not for a moment
detract from the power of idigion and the agency of
Christianity thereby. All has not been put within them.
They were touched by a power that unlocked the secret
springs and sources of greatness which were dormant in
their natures, and which they obtained in common with
ourselves by the infusion of the spiritual and divine
when man was created. The possibility, the potentiality
was there, now it has been developed and unfolded.
42 MINIS TR Y OF FL WERS
Thus is it with the lower animals, thus is it too with the
flowers and plants. Some flowers which have never
ranked higher than weeds till their secret powers have
been discovered by some venturesome insect, have,
through the agency of that creature, been enabled to
rise to a noble rank in the aristocracy of plants, and
from bearing flowers of the simplest nature have risen to
beautify and adorn the place in which they grow. Just
as the savage Briton has sped along the path of progress
through the infusion of new life from without and the
development of latent powers from within, till he takes
foremost rank in all that concerns the well-being of the
world, so from a wild weed to a rich and useful plant,
the same progressive strides may be observed. Our
tiny Groundsel is despised, save by the lad who keeps a
pet bird, and we think it a disgrace to our gardens ; but
its sister the Cineraria, a highy developed form which
has come from the Canary Isles, is placed on our tables
to make them attractive when a dinner party is to be
given, or a tasteful effect must be produced. From the
one to the other what a wide gulf exists so far as the un-
tutored eye can see ! But why should so many colours
be displayed, and why should such variety exist? Selfish
people have but one answer — "These colour exist in
order to gratify the sense of the beautiful in man ; in
order to please our eyes and make the country beautiful
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 43
and attractive." Such is the reply which till recent times
has given entire satisfaction, but we get impatient of old
notions, and we soon ascertain that many of the most
lovely forms of life existed long before man ever strutted
in his pride across the land exclaiming, " I am monarch
of all I survey/' We find still that the tiniest insects, the
smallest forms of animal and plant life, the most incon-
spicuous parasites, and a thousand other things on which
the eye of man never rests, are of the most exquisite
beauty and finish, some of them being carved and chased,
painted and enamelled with a skill that puts us to the
blush. Why all this display ? The answer is — " Some
wise purpose has been kept in view, some useful end is
to be answered.' 7 And this thought has given to the
study of botany a new life. Whereas it was once suffi-
cient if we collected so many plants and tacked to them
a Latin name, date and locality, now we find it necessary,
if we wish to become botanists, to know why a flower
has blue or orange petals rather than white or green, and
why the stamens, pistils, pollen and other details in this
flower differ so entirely in their shape, arrangement,
number, and position from those in its neighbour. And
when a question of such interest has been raised science
at once comes to the rescue. The idea is suggested that
possibly certain colours are specially attractive to certain
insects, and that the shape of this flower or that is pecu-
44 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
liarly suited to the visits of a butterfly, a moth or a bee.
Then the secret gradually comes out, and we learn that
after all man's pleasure is quite a secondary considera-
tion; that the first question relates to the plant itself;
that the fertilizing agent comes in for the next considera"
tion, after which man may place himself where he pleases.
It is a simple thing to prove that flowers have progressed
in the art of colouring their petals. Some of the old
names of our commonest flowers have now become per-
fect misnomers by reason of this fact. What a change,
for example, has come over the Chrysanthemum since the
day when it was first christened the Golden Flower ! And it
is certain that the Rose has undergone like changes, even
if we admit that its name is not originally derived from
a word meaning red. Homer speaks in such a way of
the dawn as to lead us irresistibly to the conclusion that
in his day the Rose was of a definite colour, and that
conclusion is confirmed by the many epithets in use
drawn from this distinguishing colour of the rose. We
hear of the rosy-fingered morn, rosy cheeks, a roseate
hue, but since these epithets became established we have
become familiar with the presence of roses red, and
roses white, of yellow and purple and pink and black
roses, and roses with variegated and parti-coloured petals.
If we take the family of plants to which the queen of
flowers has given her name, if we study the Rosaceae, we
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. . 45
shall find that the large group of flowers collected under
this designation includes a great variety of plants rang-
ing from weeds on the one hand to trees on the other.
In a few instances, as for example the Lady's Mantle,
we find proofs of retrogression, then in the cinque-foils
we find the normal type with yellow flowers ; a little higher
up and we meet with such as have white flowers with pink
tips; then lastly to the shrubs and trees with petals of crim-
son and rose-colour. The lower we go the nearer we get to
the original type, till we even get as far beneath it in the
case of some plants as we do above it in others. It is as
though you take the family of a certain duke, and while
on the one hand you find that certain members of the
family rose higher and higher till they occupied the
throne, others sunk so low in the scale of life as to be
disowned by their richer relatives, and we only recognize
them now by their name, or peculiar type of countenance,
or by the study of their pedigree. The Poppy family
(Papaveraaa) is another interesting group, for while we
find the gaudy scarlet petals of our Corn Poppy, by the
side of the bluish white of the Opium Poppy, and the
yellow of the Welsh variety, we find that the Horned
Poppy and Celandine (Chelidonium majus, quite distinct
from the lesser Celandine), together with the Eschscholtzia
which we grow in our gardens, alike retain the original
colour. The less attractive flowers have remained where
46 a MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
they were, the others have made progress, and are now
to be found establishing themselves everywhere. But
this will suffice with reference to colour, and must also
be taken as a sample of the kind of evidence we find in
other directions. It would have been interesting to
dwell on progression as witnessed in the fruits which
different plants have borne, and this is a field abounding
in facts if we take a wider scope and look at those tree
and plants which are natives of other lands. The Orange,
Lemon, Pumelo and other members of the Citron family
have had a long and interesting history, and they have
not been slow to avail themselves of the opportunities
which have been placed within their reach. Here we
find fruits as small as a marble, such as the Wang-pi
{Cookia) of China, and others as large as a man's head.
All are now more or less fit for food, but the curious
variety of Citrons known as the Fingered Lemon or
Buddha's hand is one of the survivors perhaps from
earlier times, its fruit being used merely as an or-
nament, or for presenting at the heathen shrines.
Some families of plants contain members which have
branched off in different directions. Here is the fruit of
the Soap-Berry tree (Sapindus) which I brought from
China, where it is employed for making a lather as a
substitute for soap. This rosary of 108 beads is made
of the round, hard seeds which exactly resemble peas in
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE, 47
size and shape, and which, in former times, were mounted
in gold and silver and worn as buttons by the wealthy
folk of our native land ; the Spaniards still using them
for beads and buttons. But while this plant has been
content to . produce its seeds in an inedible pulp, its
sister (S. esculentus\ the Pittombera of Brazil, produces
fruit which is wholesome and eatable; that of yet
another variety (S. Mukorossi) being innocuous, but very
bitter. Now, if we take up the first cousins of the
Sapindus we shall find that they have been more generous,
and since they have favoured man with their fruits they
have been rewarded by being placed in the fruit garden,
and assigned an honourable place among the fruits of
the East. The Lichi and Longan (the Dimocarfins and
Nephelium of botanists) are very highly prized in China,
and the fruit is often dried and sent to this country,
where it is greatly enjoyed by some who are fortunate
enough to be able to purchase it. It is said that entire
trees are conveyed by water from Quang-tung (the pro-
vince of Canton) to Peking, in order that the Emperor
of China may enjoy this delicacy fresh and in its perfec-
tion. This is not merely a proof that his majesty is
served with regal magnificence, but indicates the progress
which the fruit has made, and the honourable place to
which it has attained. Flowers and fruits, plants and
trees, are still growing, developing, and progressing.
4 S MINIS! R Y OF FL WERS
They are utilizing the private stores which have been
secreted within the cells and tissues, they are putting
forth gayer petals, choicer blossoms, richer fruits, and so
they win in the race of life. I must refer the reader to Mr.
Darwin himself, in order that he may learn what devices
the Orchid and other wonderful flowers have hit upon for
gaining a higher position in life ; and no one who reads
intelligently his accounts of the way in which the blossom
has adapted itself to the insect, whose visits it covets, will
give up his study without feelings of profound admira-
tion, and maybe of intense emulation, as he feels that
what the flowers can accomplish he also should do.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 49
UR study would be incomplete were
we not to make a few remarks on a
branch of this subject which is of great
interest : I mean that which relates to
CIRCULARITY IN LIFE.
Learned expositors and preachers
JU have discoursed eloquently and pleas-
ingly on the words of Solomon (Eccles. iii. 15), " That
which hath been is now ; and that which is to be hath
already been ; and God requireth that which is past."
They have dwelt "on the " law of circularity," and shewn
how there is a constant revolving and circulation through-
out the universe. Day gives place to night, and night
again to day \ spring succeeds winter, and winter follows
summer; the sun revolves, the earth is moving, the blood
circulates, the smoke forms the cloud, the cloud brings
rain, the rain produces nourishment and causes the trees
to grow and enables us to make our fires and create more
smoke, and so on and on we go, ever revolving, never
standing still. Now, this law of circularity is beautifully
seen in connection with the life history of the flowers and
50 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
plants. We begin at the beginning, and we find that the
very simplest of all forms of life is the sphere, circle, or
round cell. We find this form in the fresh water algae,
which abound in our pools, ditches, and water-butts.
It is simply composed of a cell or sac filled with proto-
plasm. When it is about to evolve a new plant it divides
itself into two parts, either by putting forth a little bud
at its circumference which, gradually increasing in size,
assumes the round form of the parent cell, and
ultimately separates from it to become the ancestor
of another similar form; or else by sending a parti-
tion across its protoplasm, which, in turn, is sub-
divided and four cells are formed from one. One of the
most beautiful and interesting forms of microscopic plants
is that known as Volvox globator. Men cf science were
a long time in discovering whether this minute form of
life should be regarded as an animal or a plant. Curi-
ously enough the law of circularity is here illustrated in
two ways. Not only is the plant globular, as its name
implies, but it is also, in common with many minute
animals and plants, provided with little tails, whips, fila-
ments, or cilia, by means of which it keeps itself in
motion. Now the Volvox does not merely plough ahead,
or move forwards and backwards, it is capable of revolving
like a globe on its axis, and so the motion produced is of
the most graceful description. The appearance of the
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 5 1
plant may almost be likened to a miniature cactus, per-
fectly round, on whose spines a spider has woven with
regularity and geometrical nicety its silken web. It will
often be seen that within the sphere itself little Volvoces
are revolving — wheels within wheels. Then there is the
Pandorina, which consists of a round cell in which a
great number of smaller cells or spores are to be seen.
These again are provided with cilia, which protrude
through the wall of the larger cell, and by their means
the plant is kept in motion. If you study closely the
minute forms of life which you place under the micro-
scope, you will soon see that though their appearance
varies they are all composed of cells. Sometimes these
are simple spheres, at other times there are spheres within
spheres, but in yet other cases you cannot detect a sign
of rotundity. How is this ? Because the cells have
contracted the habit of growing side by side, and
linking themselves together. If there is a single string
of cells the sides in contact with each other will be
flattened by pressure, while those sides which are
free will probably be rounded off. If, however, the
cells are in a mass, their angles will be of all shapes.
Yet it is easy to see that the original form is the round.
Hence, in plants of larger growth, while the cells have in
many instances retained their circularity, in others they
have had to give up their original shape under the in-
5 2 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WFRS
iluences which have been at work upon them. From cells
of simple form we turn to those which are more complex,
and here we notice that some are spiral and others annular.
These cells are of vast importance to the life and develop-
ment of a plant, and when you take up the study of plant
physiology this will become more and more apparent.
Then from cells we pass on to spores and pollen. When
speaking of the smut ( Uredd) found in wheat, we shewed
how each spore was a simple globule or spherical cell,
and if you take the spores of other fungi or those of ferns
the same law will hold good. Exceptions prove the rule.
Even the spore-cases, such as you see in the form of golden
spots on the back of the common polypods, grow T in circular
patches, each patch being composed of a number of bags
filled w 7 ith miniature spores. These bags are composed
of elastic cells which burst as the spores increase in size,
and as we further examine the various parts of the plant
we are constantly coming across further indications that
the law of circularity is at work. This is seen, not less in
the method adopted by the fern for production of young
plants than in the constitution of the component parts of
the plant itself. The micro-fungi, especially the cluster-
cups (^cidia) found on the Colts -foot, Barberry, Nettle,
and Dock, are further delightful forms which may be
studied. Not only do they usually form round patches
or clusters, but each cup is round, and abounds in spores
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 53
of a similar shape. Then the pollen of plants is further
proof of the prevalence of this law. Here we have the
pollen of the Hollyhock, perfectly round, and since it is
designed for removal to another plant by insect agency,
we find it studded with little hair-like appendages or
projections which assist it in its endeavours to adhere to
the object with which it is brought into contact. The
essential organs of plants are also round. The pistil,
ovary, and ovule each partakes of this character, which is
no less conspicuous in the seeds themselves. Notwith-
standing the fact that many fruits are anything but round,
we are certain that the circular is the normal shape. We
find it in our wild fruits, Hawthorn, Sloe, Crab, Yew,
Ivy, Cranberry, Holly, Mistletoe, Briony, Hip, Acorn,
Chestnut, and many others. So with the Gooseberry,
Currant, Strawberry, Raspberry and Blackberry. The
legumes give us round seeds as in the case of Peas,
Vetches, Broom, Gorse, and their congeners. Larger
fruits take the same shape, whether grown in bunches like
the Grape, or singly as Oranges, Lemons, Fig, Longan,
and the thousand and one edible and inedible fruits of
this and other lands. Look too at the form taken by the
flowers. While we have such highly developed modifi-
cations as the Orchids and papilionaceous plants, we find
that all simple plants have round blossoms. The tropics
abound in monstrous forms ; here where life is quiet and
54 MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
the circular form answers most of the purposes of life we
find it most common. Thus our Daisy and Primrose,
Speedwell and Pimpernel, Ragwort and Campion, all the
Buttercups and Rosaceous flowers, the Poppy family, the
Crucifers and many others are round. Those which have
novel shapes nevertheless shew in most instances that their
normal form was the same as we see in simpler flowers,
and you will find the calyx of a spurred Violet as regular in
form as that of a Primrose. Once more, turn to the shapes
assumed by the stems of plants, their roots and bulbs, and
what do they teach us ? The Crocus, Tulip, Snowdrop,
Onion, Carrot, Parsnip and other flowers and plants have
round bulbs or tap-roots, and even the larger trees send
deep down into the earth a second stem or root similar in
shape and form to that above ground. The pointed or
tapering root is penetrating, and consequently capable of
securing for the plant immense grip. Try to pull up a
carrot or parsnip, and you will find that the tenacity of its
hold is in direct proportion to the depth and size of its
tapering root. Then you have the round stem of the
Wheat, Oat, Barley and Rye, ; the Reed, Cane, Grass and
Bamboo ; the Palm with its endless varieties ; the Fir and
the Oak ; in fact, for the stem of plants and flowers the
angular or flat is abnormal and unusual, the circular is
common and normal. Think of the immense advantage
which this form gives the plant over the square or many
RESPEC1ING HUMAN LIFE. 55
sided shape. In cases where (as in the lianas and other
creepers) the stem is flattened or angular a special end
has to be kept in view. These plants do not stand alone,
exposed to the storm and blast. They coil round the
stronger tree and live only as they find support from
others. But the round stalk of the wheat and reed, and
the circular stern of the pine and palm, is peculiarly
adapted for exposure to changes of climate, atmosphere
and temperature. It presents as little surface as possible
to the storm, the head is kept erect, and the interlocking
of the cells produces internal strength and support, while
there is greater elasticity in the motions of the plant when
swayed with the wind than could otherwise be acquired.
Thus the law of circularity is seen to be of exceeding
value in a variety of ways, and the thoughts which are
suggested maybe followed out by each of us in the way most
congenial to our own mental and spiritual capabilities.
5 6
MINISTR Y OF FL WERS
THE TRANSMISSION OF LIFE.
"NONE of us liveth to himself/'
This truth is abundantly illus-
trated by the way in which the
plants vie with each other in their
attempts to communicate their
life to others. The methods
adopted are very various, the end
is the same. It would seem that
the one object which the plants
keep before them is the propaga-
tion of their race in the healthiest
and strongest manner possible ;
not merely the transmission of
life, but such transmission in the way best adapted
for the vigorous continuance and development of life.
What a grand end to keep in view ! In this the ancient
Greeks and the nobler plants are in unison. The end
being ascertained, the question is raised — How shall it
be attained? The object being set forth, the plan has
now to be adopted. From the earliest times all plants
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 57
were possessed of the power of passing on to their pro-
geny the germs of life. The ability to do this was in
many instances latent in each separate plant, as we see it
still in the very lowest orders. They combined in one
the male and female principles. But such a method of
sustaining and transmitting life was subject to many dis-
advantages. Hence we find some plants possessed only
of stamens while others had only pistils, and the agency
of the wind was necessary to convey the pollen from the
staminate flowers to the stigmas of the pistillate flowers.
You see the Dog Mercury (Mercurialis fierennis), for ex-
ample, growing in dark green tufts under yonder hedge.
That plant will illustrate our point. The Hazel and Oak
have both kinds of flowers on separate twigs and branches,
and as the former often grows as underwood, it is no un-
usual thing for the stamens of one plant to have their
pollen wafted by the wind to the pistils of another plant,
and thus cross-fertilization would ensue. But to supply
enough pollen for such an undertaking involves great
labour. If you gather the tassels hanging on the Hazel
or Willow and shake them over a sheet of paper, you will
be surprised to find what a quantity of yellow flour or
powder falls from them. This is the pollen by means of
which the pistils are fertilized, and fruit secured for the
transmission of life. Gradually, so far as we can learn
from the records of the earth, new forms of insect life
58 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
sprang into existence, and side by side with their evolu-
tion we find new efforts made by the plants to utilize
their agency and adapt themselves to the new and more
perfect state and times in which they lived. We shall
always be to some extent under correction in speaking
about the flowers and insects of early times, for their pre-
servation in anything like a perfect fossil state is next to
an impossibility in the case of those with delicate organs,
tissues, and colours. But we have the testimony of our
own times, and the records of over two thousand years,
since the study of plants was first commenced, and from
the evidence derived from these two sources we can form-
ulate a series of laws or arguments, which, applied to the
study of fossil botany and entomology, will serve as a
safe guide to much of the history of the past. We thus
learn that in order to accomplish the great end of life the
flowers sought the caresses of the insects and laid them-
selves out for decoying them. If honey glands were
formed, honey-guides studded the petals, gaudy tints were
dexterously applied to the corolla, the stamens and pistils
assumed new positions and shapes, the pollen even, mi-
nute and dust-like as it is, adapted itself to the changed
circumstances, and everything was done to ensure success.
And how admirably have the various plans succeeded !
Such is the anxiety felt throughout nature that every-
where we find a planning and scheming going on, and
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 59
nowhere do we observe the process under more honour-
able conditions or favourable circumstances than in the
flowers. The youthful damsel does not trick herself out
with greater taste when she wishes to obtain the favour
and receive the addresses of a gallant beau, than does the
flower which seeks to win the loving favours of the butter-
fly or bee. But in the struggle for life all have not been
able to secure the attentions of these fitful visitants, and
they had run the risk of being left to die. Hence other
methods have been adopted by means of which to ensure
the transmission of life and the propagation and continu-
ance of the species. The strawberry, for example, while
it possesses flowers which are fully equipped with all the
requisites for proper fertilization, has also received the
power of multiplying itself by means of runners. This
property is not confined to any one group of plants.
The Chinese have a flower (Saxifraga sarmentosa) which
has been introduced into this country under the name of
Aaron's Beard, whose multiplication may be effected in
exactly the same way. It is one of the many sisters of
our London Pride (Saxifraga umbrosa) which is propa-
gated by stoles or offsets. You will often see it in cottage
windows throwing out its trailing runners, on the end of
which young plants appear. This peculiarity has led to
its being called Spider Plant and Mother of Thousands.
So we have the Crowfoot or Creeping Buttercup (Ranun-
60 M1NISTR Y OF FLO WFRS
cuius repens), a most troublesome plant, and one which
every gardener and farmer detests. This too has the same
power, and right vigorously does it use it. The same
may be said of many other plants, such as the Silver
Weed (Potentilla anserina) and especially the Creep-
ing Cinquefoil {Potentilla reptans). The Bramble
has the power of propagation by means of roots thrown
out at the end or middle of a branch which has been re-
clining on the ground, and by following out this idea gar-
deners are able to make "layers" of Gooseberry, Currant,
and other bushes, shrubs and trees. Laurel plantations
are thickened and rendered uniform by pegging their
young branches into the ground in such a way as to en-
able them to take root and so form fine vigorous plants.
Then we have suckers springing from the Raspberry, As-
paragus, Mint, Bamboo, Sumach, and other plants.
These are the result of the roots bearing buds which
eventually send up a stem exactly like, but at a dis-
tance from, the parent. The American Blackberry
is now being cultivated in this country, and year by year
the old stems are cut down, as we do those of the Rasp-
berry, depending for new fruit on each year's growth.
Many plants are multiplied by means of tubers, as is the
case with our old friend the Potato, and the "pomme de
prairie," or esculent Psoralea, a farinaceous root found in
Canada, which affords during winter a very acceptable
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 61
and nutritious food for the natives of the regions where it
grows. Some, again, like the Daisy, London Pride and
Primrose, may be multiplied by dividing the parent plant,
so that from one clump of Saxifrage enough plants may be
obtained for planting an entire border. Then there is the
bulb and corm. Many of our choicest flowers depend
for the transmission of life upon the young bulbs they
produce, and we seldom think of looking for the seed of
the Snowdrop, Crocus, Tulip, or Hyacinth, since they
have the more substantial root formation to fall back
upon. Many plants possess the property of starting
afresh on the journey of life by means of roots thrown
out from a tiny portion of stem or leaf. Cuttings may
therefore be taken from Gooseberries and Currants, Pinks
and Carnations, Fuchsias and Geraniums, and many
other plants, which, with due care and attention, will soon
strike and grow into useful and vigorous plants. Even
the portion of a leaf of some plants possesses this power
and vitality, and so we find an infinite variety of methods
adopted by plants for the successful attainment of the
great end of life. I have spoken of the fertilization
of plants. Here" it may be well to remind the reader
that the greater efforts we see put forth by plants
to secure the fertilization of their flowers, the more
perfect will the seeds become. The microscopic study
of the smallest seeds of insect fertilized plants is full of
62 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
interest. It is the seed which in the normal plant
secures the transmission of life. It is interesting to
observe that as soon as a plant has succeeded in securing
its object it dies away, leaving its fruit or seed to carry
on its work. Of the great variety of seeds and fruits, it
is impossible here to speak ; but the wonderful provision
made is fraught with lessons. As a rule, that part of the
fruit or seed which carries the germ of life is produced
in a case or covering. Thus the pea and bean, together
with other legumes, grow in pods, while the seed itself is
carefully covered over with a coat of what we might call
vegetable vellum, which falls off when the germ begins to
grow and the cotyledons swell. In the case of edible
fruits, the seed is usually in the centre, and this in many
cases is covered over with a hard shell, which divides
when the seed begins to grow, and ceases to need its pro-
tection and help. Families of plants usually adopt like
methods throughout the community ; but this rule is not
absolute. While, for example, the Orange family bears
seeds or pips in the centre of the fruit, the Rose tribe has
more than one method of placing its seeds. In the
Crab we have one method, in the Hip and Haw another,
and in the Strawberry another. Some provide for the
agency of birds, hence the pulp of the Cherry, Hips
and Haws, Sloe, and Holly ; some rely upon the
wind for dissemination, whence we find the " keys n of
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 63
the Ash and Maple with their delicate wings, and the
winged seeds of many other plants. The pappus on the
Thistle and Dandelion seeds also serves the same purpose,
and on being caught by the passing breeze the whole is
wafted to some distant spot and deposited, seed down-
ward, ready for germination. Very ingenious devices are
found in operation among some plants. The Balsam
goes off with a bang when its seeds are ripe, as
everyone has observed, and by this means the seeds
are sent far and near. The wild Geranium has a
similar method of scattering its fruit, and the appear-
ance of the seed vessels after they have discharged
their contents is most remarkable. They can be seen by
any hedgerow, and should be studied by all who wish to
know how Nature provides for herself. We may say that
these plants possess within their capsules a series of
elastic catapults, with which they throw their stones in
every direction. The Burdock, Cleavers {Galium Apar-
i/ie), and other plants, are provided with curved hooks,
by means of which they fasten themselves upon the wool
of sheep or other passing objects, and so travel from
place to place. Thus in one way and another the great
end is gained, and the flowers hand on to others the life
whi:h they have received. One thing strikes us as
worthy of notice. While here and there a plant, like the
Orchis, is content with simply providing for one or two
64 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
descendants, some aim at great results. True, they do
not always succeed. Thousands of Acorns become the
food of squirrels and other animals to every one that
becomes a tree ; but in many instances the attempt to
scatter life broadcast succeeds, and that plant which can
send forth the greatest number of well-developed and
well-protected seeds, bulbs, runners, or suckers, stands
the best chance of winning the race. Is not the thought
suggestive with reference to the work of the Christian
and the Church ? Every one of us may learn that while
it is a great thing to be able to do a little in the way of ,
transmitting the life which we have received to others,
the more earnestly we work, the more liberally we sow
our seed, the greater chances have we of succeeding in
our endeavours. " In the morning sow thy seed, and in
the evening withhold not thy hand ; for thou knowest
not whether shall prosper, this or that, or whether they
both shall be alike good" (Eccles. ii. 6). Thus may
we be ever found energetically seeking to transmit life to
others.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE.
65
THE AUTUMN OF LIFE.
HERWOOD Forest
V^ is famous on account
of its association with
^ Robin Hood and his
followers in former
times, as well as from
the fact that many anci-
ent mansions, still occu-
pied by dukes and other
eminent personages, are
situated within or near its bound-
aries. But it also has a name for
its beautiful trees, including the Major, Parliament, and
Greendale Oaks. I was driving through the forest
recently, and was struck with two things. First, one
could not fail to admire the glory of the autumn tints ;
but, on the other hand, the " autumn of life" was sadly
apparent in the decayed and weather-beaten forms
of many of the no&lest trees. Here, as we drive along
the private roads around Edwinstowe, we see oak after
\
66 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
oak with its topmost branches gone, its head carried
away, its trunk decayed, or its bole twisted. Many a
heavy storm in the good old times, when winters were
probably more severe than we know them, has swept
across this beautiful forest ; and it is not to be won-
dered at that trees which have seen four, five, and
perhaps more, centuries of summer and winter changes —
wind and storm, sunshine and shower — should begin to
give proofs of being beaten. The sight is depressing.
One almost wonders at times why the owners do not cut
them down as cumberers of the ground. But that would
be Vandalism indeed. So long as they can stand at all
they have a purpose in life. Around us we see many
relics of the past, and the tottering, enfeebled form of
the aged patriarch is very touchingly represented by
these old trees. The shaking head and tremulous hand
tell their own tale. They have stood many a storm, and
grappled with many a difficulty ; but in the long run,
time and trouble get the victory, and the strongest of us
has to give way. But with reference to the autumn
tints, how suggestive are they of thought respecting life !
The autumn of 1884 was one of the grandest that has
been known for years. I had the opportunity of seeing
the country from north to south and east to west, during
the months of September and October, and certainly I
never saw anything more beautiful in my life than the
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 67
changing tints of the foliage, and the bright colours of
the leaves. On leaving Stonehenge for Salisbury, through
the villages we passed scenes of surpassing grandeur.
The view from Carisbrooke Castle, Ventnor, Boniface
Downs overlooking Bonchurch and Apuldercombe, Shank-
lin Chine, and other places in the Isle of Wight ; the
New Forest, seen from an eminence above Rufus' Stone ;
the avenues of trees in Oxford, the forest foliage in
Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire — these alike told the
same story. And what was it ? The lesson which, I
think, we might learn is this — that the autumn of life
depends upon the kind of spring and summer we have
had, and the way in which we have improved it. The
summer of 1884 was of such a kind that the trees became
stored with sap, and developed strong, healthy leaves.
The autumn came gradually, not with intense cold for a
night or two, followed by wintry blasts of a wild and
destructive nature, Slight frosts took off the " greenth "
of the leaves with a delicate touch; warm, sunny autumn
days threw light and shadow on the ever-changing scene,
and the leaves clung to their posts with brave and cheer-
ful tenacity. They had enjoyed a most favourable summer
season, and the later days of their existence were not
merely peaceful, but even gay and joyous. Such be the
autumn of my reader's life !
How many a time has reference been made to the
68 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
falling leaves as an illustration of human life, or perhaps
I should rather say of human decay. " We all do fade
as a leaf/' says the prophet (Isaiah lxiv. 6). Sometimes,
indeed, the leaf falling is an indication of calamity. The
Lord on one occasion (Jeremiah viii. 13), threatens the
Vine and Fig tree with barrenness, and adds, "the leaf
shall fade," a token that health and vitality has gone.
But such a calamity it is not our intention to dwell upon
here, it is sufficient that we refer to the matter and sug-
gest the subject as one which we may each meditate upon
with profit. But autumn is not a calamity. It must
come in the necessary order of things. It is as needful
as is the summer, or the spring. It is also the season of
fruit bearing. In the spring-tide the seed is sown, in
summer the plant gathers strength, produces blossoms,
and fertilizes its flowers, but in autumn they come to per-
fection and are gathered. While the harvest fields are
filled with golden grain, the orchards are as beautiful as
they were in May, when rosy blooms were on every
bough. The fruit has changed its colour, and Apples ?
Pears, and Plums, are ready to be gathered and stored
away for future use. What could we do without autumn?
To return to the question of tints. I remember read-
ing the following sentences in the works of a well-known
American Divine, whose brother I had the honour of
knowing as one of the most devoted but unobtrusive
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE, 6q
workers in the Chinese Mission field. " For several
autumns," says Dr. Talmage, " I made a lecturing ex-
pedition to the far West, and one autumn about this time
saw that which I shall never forget. I have seen the
autumnal sketches of Cropsey's, and other skilful pencils,
but that week I saw a pageant two thousand miles long.
A grander spectacle was never kindled before mortal
eyes. Along by the rivers, and up and down the sides of
the great hills, and by the banks of the lakes, there was
an indescribable mingling of gold, and orange, and
crimson, and saffron, now sobering into drab and
maroon, now flaming up into solferino and scarlet. Here
and there the trees looked as if just their tips had
blossomed into fire. In the morning light the forests
seemed as if they had been transfigured, and in the even-
ing hour they looked as if the sunset had burst, and
dropped upon the leaves. In more sequestered spots,
where the frosts had been hindered in their work, we saw
the first kindlings of the flames of colour in a lowly sprig;
then they rushed up from branch to branch, until the
glory of the Lord submerged the forest. Here you would
find a tree just making up its mind to change, and there
one looked as if, wounded at every pore, it stood bathed
in carnage. Along the banks of Lake Huron there were
hills over which there seemed pouring cataracts of fire,
tossed up, and down, and everywhere by the rocks.
7 o MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
Through some of the ravines we saw occasionally a foam-
ing stream, as though it were rushing to put out the con-
flagration. If at one end of the woods a commanding
tree would set up its crimson banner, the whole forest
prepared to follow. If God's urn of colours were not in-
finite, one swamp that I saw along the Maumee would
have exhausted it forever. It seemed as if the sea of
Divine Glory had dashed its surf to the tip-top of the
Alleganies, and then it had come dripping down to lowest
leaf and deepest cavern." This is a word picture which is
worthy of a golden setting. By its side should be placed
another, painted by that interesting and facile writer on
flowery subjects — Shirley Hibberd. In his delightful
book, entitled " Brambles and Bay Leaves," you will find
a chapter on A Season of Brown Leaves, which is indeed
a popular and pleasing sermon on our text — the autumn
of life. The various thoughts suggested by this subject
are there worked out just as we should like to see them
done, and after reading Mr. Hibberd's words one feels
afraid to venture on the same track. Let us cull one
paragraph from his book in place of an attempt to say
the same thing it our own words. "The history of man,
no less than the history of nature, teaches this lesson of
evolution. Wrapped up in the oval bud of spring are the
blossoms and fruits of the summer ; and in the impulsive
heart, beating in harmony with the instinctive nature of
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 71
the primeval man, are enfolded the acts of his illimitable
successors. The shepherd-life, with its simplicity and
peace, is seen again in the radiant face of the infant, and
the violet tenderness of the spring. The age of chivalry,
with its costly pomp, its clang and clash of arms, its great
deeds of daring and sacrifice, break out in the hours of
individual passion when manhood has not yet set its seal
on the brow, and when the outward semblance of heroism
is mistaken for the supporting and sustaining ardour
which springs from manly determinations. The first
flush of summer has it, too, when the fruits are yet un-
ripe, and storms dash in and out between the leaf-laden
branches. But the autumn and the browning leaf must
come, and it is already here around us. Who, then, is
worthy to die — worthy as the leaves are, all of whose
duties have been fulfilled ? Who is worthy to convert
body and soul into a soil for the growth of the next
generation of men, whose bodies are to be formed out of
the elements of ours, whose spirits are to be fed with the
aims, and hopes, and knowledge we have nurtured, and
which we must bequeath to them by an inevitable neces-
sity ? Who among us has been living all these years in
vain, watching the greening and the browning of the
leaves, without taking heed that his autumn must come,
and that winter must heap snows on his tomb, as upon
the graves of fallen leaflets ? "
72 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
The study of nature's operations in autumn is not less
interesting than that which relates to the season of the
opening bud and flower. It is perfectly marvellous how
carefully every step in life is taken, and what provision is
made for each change of form and season. When the
leaves have done their work, acting to the plant as both
lungs and stomach to the animals, they are gradually
detached from the twig which has borne them, by a
most ingenious process. The separation is produced by
means of a joint or articulation, which gradually forms
between the stem on which the leaf is growing, and the
stalk or petiole of the leaf itself at the point of contact
with the stem. A layer of cells having been formed at
the base of the leaf stalk, a clean scar is left on the stem
when the leaf falls off. If you break off a leaf from an
Ash tree in spring you will have ruthlessly to sever the
various cells and tissues at the point of rupture. If in
summer you perform the same act it is likely that the
leaf will come off with a certain amount of ease, and the
wound will be slight, the scar having already commenced
to form ; but if in autumn you touch the leaf which is
ready to fall, you will see that all that portion of the twig
which was covered by the leaf stalk has grown over in a
regular manner, so that no injury is done either to the
leaf or the stem in its detachment. A beautiful picture
of life ! Ruthless is the hand that snatches away the
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 73
babe and youth. The middle-aged have already begun
to undergo a loosening process, albeit all unconsciously
to themselves ; but when the autumn comes the falling
leaves are watched with something of pleasure as we
reflect that they have lived out their days and done their
work. As with the leaf, so with human beings. The
fall of the leaf is not accidental. It does not result
simply from change of season or temperature, or as the
result of wind, rain, or frost. It is a regular process, and
death is but a part of life. This process even commences
with the first formation of the budding leaf, and only
when the organ has done its work is the act completed.
Ruthless forces may produce a premature fall, but if
temperature, and situation, and circumstances of every
kind favoured the plant, its leaf would eventually run its
course, a scar would be formed before the wound was
exposed, and the now useless member would be silently
dropped.
If the reader will bear with a few words relating to the
science of the subject, we will try and ascertain the cause
of the tints of autumn leaves. It is well known that they
vary in different plants : yellow, brown, and red, are
favourite colours. Thus in the Birch and Willow we
usually find a yellowish tint. In the Vine the colour of
the autumn leaf is red^ and curiously enough the depth
of leaf-colour is in proportion to that of the fruit. Thus
74 MINIS TR Y OF FIO WERS
black Grapes grow on Vines whose leaves in autumn are
of a deep colour ; the leaves of the red Grapes are
lighter, while those of the white varieties have leaves of
reddish hue or even yellow. Who has not observed the
gorgeous colours of the Virginian Creeper ? A row of
Beech trees, such as we often find in various parts of
Buckinghamshire, is a sight not to be easily forgotten if
seen in their autumn dress as they appeared last year.
Now the leaves of plants, in common with other organs
possessed of a green colour, are pervaded with a peculiar
substance known as chlorophyll or leaf-green. This
substance generally exists in a granular form in the cells
of the plant. When oxydation takes place in the leaf the
colour of this substance changes, but some have supposed
that the tints are due to the presence of pigments or
colouring matter which is distinct from chlorophyll.
When water is absorbed by the roots of a plant, and
carried up into the leaves, a greater or less amount of
mineral matter finds its way in solution through the
various cells. In the course of time the moisture is ex-
haled but the substances absorbed are left behind, and
fill up the walls of the various vessels and cells of which
a plant is formed. Hence in autumn the leaves contain
a much larger amount of mineral matter than in spring.
This prevents the growth of the leaf, and leads to its
gradual decay.
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 75
Dr. Talmage remarks that most people find in the
words " We all do fade as a leaf," a vein of sadness, but
he truly adds, that there is a string of joy to the harp.
Like the leaves, we fade gradually. The trees are not
denuded in a day, but first a leaf here, and then another
there falls, till at length all have disappeared. The ties
and cords are gradually loosened till the time is ripe for
dissolution. Like the leaves, we die both to make room
for others and to assist their growth by the stimulus of
our own vigorous life. What a grand heritage do we
enjoy on whom the end of the ages have fallen ! What
stores of rich material into which to strike our roots !
What libraries, laboratories, museums, and galleries !
Our position is like that of the Sequoias which have
grown up in the soil of a primeval forest, and we too
must leave behind us our quota of material for the men
of the future to live upon. The leaves fade and fall only
to rise again. " All this golden shower of the woods is
making the ground richer, and in the juice, and sap, and
life, of the tree, the leaves will come up again/*' So the
law of sacrifice is ever in force, and in the autumn of life
we are but obeying this law, and yielding up ourselves
for the good of the race.
76
MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
THE TREE OF LIFE.
[ANY curious facts have, during
the past few years, been brought
to light through the study of
folk-lore and comparative my-
thology. One of the most in-
teresting results is to be found
in the community of thought,
feeling, and action of men in
every part of the globe and in all ages. Men placed
in like circumstances, though far apart, think and
act in a similar way, from which we argue a common
nature. But many discoveries have been made which,
if they do not actually prove by themselves the
original unity of the human race, the possession of a
beautiful homestead or grove by our early ancestors, the
existence of trees and fruits possessed of special qualities,
the fall of man through sin, and many other matters, at
any rate they throw interesting rays of light upon these
topics. Much has been written about the trees of Para-
dise, and especially the Tree of Life. The subject is as
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 77
old as the Bible itself, and its elucidation dates from the
times of the earliest commentators. Not only did sacred
writers of later times, such as Solomon, David, and St.
John, speak of a Tree of Life, but the Apostolic Fathers
and early Divines loved to dwell with vivid and fertile
imagination upon the same theme. It has, however,
fallen to the lot of writers during the present century
chiefly to bring together the notices of the Tree of Life
and the common beliefs of the most widely scattered
people respecting it. Until recent times it was scarcely
known that Arabs, Hindus, Malays, and Polynesians, to-
gether with many other peoples, regarded certain trees as
possessed of peculiar properties such as those attributed
to the products of Eden ; but we have now ascertained
that the idea is well nigh, if not quite, an universal one.
It is useless to speculate respecting the nature of the
trees found in Paradise ; but it may be interesting to
notice what trees have received special honour in distant
lands, and then see what lessons are taught by Scripture.
In some lands, as would readily be imagined by those
who know the fruit, the Banana or Plantain has the honour
of being associated with Paradise. In Johnson's edition
of old Gerarde's Herbal (a.d. 1633, generally quoted as
Ger. Emac), we find three illustrations of this fruit and
plant : viz., first, Adam's Apple tree (Musa serapionis) ;
secondly, Adam's Apple {Muscz frucius) ; and thirdly
78 MINISTR Y OF FLOWERS
u an exacter figure of the Plantaine fruit." The author
states that in his day " some have judged it the forbidden
fruit; others the grapes brought to Moses out of the
Holy Land." He adds, " The Grecians and Christians
which inhabit Syria, and the Jewes also, suppose it to be
that tree of whose fruit Adam did taste, which others
think to be a ridiculous fable." On the strength of this
idea, we find that one species of Musa has been nomin-
ally associated with Paradise. Thus we read : " The two
most valuable and best know r n species of Musa are the
Adam's Apple or Plantain (M. paradisiaca), and the
Banana-Plantain (Af. sapieniuni) ; the latter is a denizen
of the New, the former of the Old World. Indeed, as
the specific name paradisiaca imports, a notion was en-
tertained by the old botanists that this was the forbidden
fruit of Eden. . . . The native Indians use the leaves as
plates, dishes, and napkins ; and those persons who be-
lieve the fruit to be the forbidden Apple of Paradise have
also adventured the groundless surmise that the large
leaves of the Plantain were the so-called fig-leaves of
which our first parents made their aprons." One thing
is certain, that if Banana leaves, such as we see to-day in
the East, had been employed, they would not have needed
sewing together ; for if a hole were cut through one end
and the head thrust through, the leaf would easily reach
to the knees or even feet of ordinary mortals. But while
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE, 79
the usefulness of this tree makes it unlikely that it would
be wholly tabooed or forbidden, we find Canon Kingsley
suggesting that it may for ages have been regarded as a
sacred tree. He says (" At Last," II. 271), " It is wild no-
where now on earth. It stands alone and unique in the
vegetable kingdom, having distant cousins, but no brother
kinds. It has been cultivated so long that, though it
flowers and fruits, it seldom or never seeds. The only
spots in which it seeds regularly are the Andaman Islands
in the Bay of Bengal." Out of the hundreds that I have
eaten, always of course avoiding the cross which may be
seen on cutting it through, I have never come across its
seeds. But the Palm has received even a larger share
of notice than the Banana. Tradition asserts that the
fruit of the Date-Palm was one of the three things which
fallen Adam was allowed to take with him when driven
from the Garden of Eden. These dates were eventually
planted, and from them all the Palms in the world have
sprung. The sacred tree which we find so frequently in
the Assyrian sculptures appears to be a traditional form
of the Date-Palm, a tree which in Egypt and Arabia
particularly has long been regarded with profound esteem.
As Mr. King truly says ("Sketches and Studies," p. 37), "It
has a special beauty of its own when the clusters of
dates are hanging in golden ripeness under its coronal
of dark-green leaves. It is figured as a Tree of Life on
So MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
an Egyptian sepulchral tablet, certainly older than the
fifteenth century, B.C., and now preserved in the Museum
at Berlin. Two arms issue from the top of the tree, one
of which presents a tray of dates to the deceased, who
stands in front, whilst the other gives him water — ' the
water of life/ The arms are those of the goddess Nepte,
who appears at full length in other and later representa-
tions." The male flowers of the Date-Palm grow on one
tree, while the female grow on another. Owing to this
(dioecious) character, the fruit often fails or degenerates
in bad seasons, on which account the Arabs, when neces-
sary, cut the pollen bearing spikes of bloom and hang
them over those bearing pistils to ensure their fertilization,
and thus a choice supply of fruit is secured. A festival
is held at this season of the year which is known as the
Marriage of the Palm. It has been asserted that the
tribes of people are so familiar with the importance of the
due impregnation of the pistils with the pollen of the
staminiferous trees, that one writer states that the threat
to destroy all the male trees growing in a certain region
led to an invasion being warded off. "I remember (says
Keempfer) it happened in my time that the Grand Signior
meditated an invasion of the city and territory of Bassora,
which the prince of the country prevented by giving out
that he would destroy all the male Palm trees on the first
approach of the enemy, and by that means cut off from
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 81
them all supplies of food during the siege." The reader
may be referred to the learned and valuable Mythologie
des Plantes of Comte Angelo de Gubernatis for the further
elucidation of the subject connected with the Banana,
Palm, and other trees. We may now remark that the
next tree which has been associated with the garden of
Eden is the Fig. This has partially resulted from the
statement that the culprits, on discovering that they had
sinned, sewed Fig leaves together in order to make gar-
ments. Thus in an Egyptian scene which Rosellini has
figured from the sepulchral tablets, we find several genera-
tions of a distinguished family receiving nourishment
from the Tree of Life, one of the Fig trees {Ficus syca-
morus) being the type selected. The goddess Nepte rises
from the top of the tree with a tray of Figs in one hand,
while she pours a stream of water from a vase held in
the other. The various peoples of the East adopt dif-
ferent types of Fig, that held sacred among the Hindus
being the Peepul or Bo-tree {Ficus religiosd). Both this
and the Banyan are regarded in India as the Tree of
Knowledge, and with them Buddha and other renowned
personages are intimately associated. The Rabbins, fond
of multiplying legends and producing marvellous stories,
" describe the Tree of Life as being of enormous bulk,
towering far above all others, and so vast in its girth that
no man, even if he lived so long, could travel round it in
F
82 MINIS TR Y OF FL O WERS
less than five hundred years. From beneath the colossal
base of this stupendous tree gushed all the waters of
the earth, by whose instrumentality nature was everywhere
refreshed and invigorated. Regarding these Rabbinic
traditions as purely mythical, certain commentators have
looked upon the Tree of Life as typical only of that life
and the continuance of it which our first parents derived
from God. Others think that it was called the Tree of
Life because it was a memorial, pledge, and seal of the
eternal life, which, had man continued in obedience,
would have been his reward in the Paradise above.
Others, again, believe that the fruit of it had a certain
vital influence to cherish and maintain man in immortal
health and vigour till he should have been translated from
the earthly to the heavenly Paradise." (" Plant Lore," by
Richard Folkard, p. 13.) It has been argued with con-
siderable ability that the Banyan was the tree in the midst
of which Adam and Eve endeavoured to conceal them-
selves. This famous tree produces aerial roots which
strike downwards from the branches, and, reaching the
ground, form new trunks and infant trees which might be
separated from the parent and yet retain their vitality.
Such a tree, as all who have lived in the East are
aware, forms, in the words of Milton —
' ' A pillared shade
High over-arched, with echoing walks between."
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 83
The Tree of Life is so intimately associated with the
Tree of Knowledge, that in noticing one we are obliged
to refer to the other. We are in the habit of speaking of
'he Apple as the forbidden fruit, and the " Adam's Apple"
found in the throat has received this designation from the
legend, that when the forbidden fruit was partaken of by
Adam a piece of it stuck fast, and produced the protub-
erance. In China, however, it is an Olive which has
become fixed in the throat. The Orange, Citron, Pome-
granate, Grape, and other fruits have been described as
having each a strong identification with the forbidden
fruit. Speaking of the Citron, Gerarde says that among
the vulgar sort of Italians of his day, the fruit was called
Pomum Adami, or Adam's Apple; "and that came by
the opinion of the common rude people, who thinke it to
be the same Apple which Adam did eate of in Paradise,
when he transgressed God's commandment ; whereupon
also the prints of the biting appear therein, as they say :
but others say this is not the Apple, but that which the
Arabians do call Musa or Mosa," i.e. Banana. Among
the Indians of Orinoko the Moriche Palm is held sacred,
whence it was named by the Romish Missionaries the Tree
of Life. Kingsley tells us that, according to the Tama-
nacs, after a great deluge which swept man from off the
earth, a man and woman, the sole survivors of the human
race, cast the fruit of this Palm behind them, and watched
84 MINIS TR Y OF FI O WERS
till from the seeds a host of men and women rose up to
re-people the world. Many such stories are to be found
in the mythologies of Greeks, Romans, Scandinavians
and others. Speaking of Wisdom, Solomon says (Pro-
verbs hi. 18), "She is a tree of life to them that lay
hold upon her; and happy is everyone that retaineth her."
But St. John in the Apocalypse has two most interesting
references to the subject of this tree. He is instructed
to say to the Church of Ephesus (Revelation ii. 7), "To
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of
Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." And
he further adds (ch. xxii. 2) that, " On either side the
river was there the Tree of Life, which bore twelve
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month ; and
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the na-
tions." On the former of these passages, Archbishop
Trench has an able note which is so much to the point
that I give its substance to the reader. In " the Tree of
Life," there is manifest allusion, says he, to " the Tree
of Life in the midst of the garden," mentioned in Genesis
ii. 9. The tree which disappeared with the disappear-
ance of the earthly Paradise, reappears with the reappear-
ance of the heavenly, Christ's kingdom being in the
highest sense the restitution of all things. Whatever had
been lost through Adam's sin is won back, and that too
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 85
in a higher shape, through Christ's obedience. Hence
the poet says : —
" In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost."
That the memory of this tree had not in the meantime
perished, we gather from a number of references in the
Book of Proverbs. In addition to that already quoted
we find (xi. 30) " The fruit of the righteous is a tree of
life." So (xiii. 12) "Hope deferred maketh the heart
sick : but when the desire cometh it is a tree ot life.
Lastly, " A wholesome tongue is a tree of life " (xv. 4).
The Rabbins, of course, knew a great deal about this
tree of life, as we have already seen. Its boughs, they
said, overshadowed the whole of Paradise. It had five
hundred thousand fragrant smells, and its fruit as many
pleasant tastes, not one of them resembling the other.
" To eat of the Tree of Life " is a figurative phrase to ex-
press participation in life eternal. " Blessed are they that
do His commandments, that they may have right to the
Tree of Life" (Rev. xxii. 14). More than once in the
Apocrypha do we read of this tree. Thus (2 Esdras ii.
12) "They shall have the Tree of Life for an ointment of
sweet savour." Esdras asks what profit it is to a man
" that there should be showed a paradise, whose fruit
endureth for ever, wherein is security and medicine, since
we shall not enter into it?" In Ecclesiasticus xix. 19,
86 MI NISI R Y OF FL O WERS
we are told that the knowledge of the command-
ment of the Lord is the doctrine of life; and "they
that do things that please Him shall receive the
fruit of the tree of immortality." We meet with echoes
and reminiscences of this Tree of Life in the mytho-
logies of many nations ; or, if not actual reminiscences
of it, yet Teachings out after it, as in the Yggdrasil
of our own northern mythology, and still more remarkably
in the Persian Horn (Haoma). This Horn is the king of
trees, is called in Zendavesta, the Death-destroyer. It
grows by the fountain of Ardinsur — in other words, by
the waters of life ; while its sap drunken confers immor-
tality. This is the sacred Soma of the Hindus, of whose
virtues we read in the sacred literature of the East.
Here we must close our study of the teaching of the
plants and flowers respecting life. The subject may be
further followed up by such as desire to do so in the
many able works which have been already written. Our
gleanings have been sufficient to shew what a wide field
for profitable meditation Nature presents, and he who
rightly enters upon the study will not only find it more
and more engrossing as he proceeds, but will also be
led to a truer and profounder devotion to the great Giver
of life, whose finger and handiwork we can everywhere
trace. We shall probably never get nearer the explana-
tion of the mystery of life, for that appears to be a subject
RESPECTING HUMAN LIFE. 87
altogether beyond the reach of science ; but we shall see
that its possibilities are limitless, while from the infin-
itely small to the infinitely great it is equally perfect
and beautifully developed. May the lessons with which
so profound a subject is fraught be deeply written on our
hearts, and lead us each from Nature up to Nature's
God.
BOOK II.
\Lfye Jlixnista? of Jforoers
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE,
" Degeneration follows, and with it all sorts of vegetable vices
and dodges to gain a bare living, or for hanging on to life."
Dr. E. J. Taylor.
BOOK II.
^fjc @btis ot Sift.
vour f
IMAGINE the reader say-
ing to himself — " Pray, what
can the flowers teach us
about life's evils and vices ?"
Have you never been startled
by the fact that the curse
which has fallen upon man
seems to rest on the whole
creation ? Have you never
observed that, just as the
animals — from man down-
wards to the lowest link in
the chain of life — " delight
to bark and bite," to snarl,
cheat, deceive, and even de-
So the same evil qualities are to be found fully
92 MINTSTR Y OF FLO WERS
developed in the plant world. If this fact has never
struck yon, there is before you a wonderful mine for re-
search, and a most extensive field for your careful obser-
vation. Let us now come to the consideration of some
of the facts in the history of flowers and plants, which
show us life in its darker moods. And let me, in the
first place, speak of the general
CORRUPTION OF LIFE
that abounds. As we have in every grade of human
society, spots of pollution and defilement ; as every rank
in life has its corrupting influences ; as even the sun has
its spots — so the flowers have to contend with influences
of an equally degrading and mischievous character.
These vices are not merely such as stain the pure petals,
and spoil the beauty of the plant : they even eat out its
life, and destroy its vitality, leaving it a perfect wreck.
Come with me to the field of waving corn, which we see
in the distance yonder, and I will explain more fully what
I mean. How bright and cheerful the appearance of the
field, as the wind gently rustles in the corn-ears, and
makes them bend in rhythmic waves, which undulate from
one end of the plot to the other ! We pronounce the
field — "white already to the harvest " — a grand success,
and are sure the farmer will be well repaid for his outlay.
But wait a bit. The farmer himself is coming toward us,
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 93
and ever and anon we notice that he stops to examine
the ears of corn, and looks disappointed and sad. We
shall cheer him if we congratulate him on the fine crop,
maybe, so we at once commence a conversation on the
subject. He listens to us for a while, and then observes,
" You cannot have given the field a very close exami-
nation. I regret to say that the crop is largely affected
by smut, rust, and blight. In fact, I have not seen a field
in such a state for years, and this is all the more grievous
since it is a long time since the corn ripened so well, or
bid so fair to return a good harvest." Now, we shall
judge of the farmer's feelings in proportion to our know-
ledge of the things he has been describing. It is quite
likely that he does not know how blight differs scientific-
ally from smut, or what is the gulf which separates brand
from blast ; but of this he is sure, that since these things
are in the wheat, his sample is spoiled. Now, it is one
of the triumphs of the microscope, that it has revealed to
us the history and mystery of these various plague-spots ;
and to their study we may now with profit, and I trust
with pleasure, turn. Let us take home a few of the straws
and ears which the farmer has gathered, in order to show
us what he means, and see what we can make out of these
red and black spots. We will first examine this ear of
corn, which is attacked with smut. Take a slip of glass,
and shake some of the black dust from the ear upon it ;
94 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
then place it under the microscope. If your lens is suf-
ficiently powerful, it will reveal to you some startling
facts. You see that the dust, which you have rubbed
down to the finest dimensions— so that you can scarcely
see it with the naked eye — is in reality made up of multi-
tudes of tiny globules or spheres, each one of which is as
perfect in its rotundity and finish as the brightest star or
the choicest grape. Now, herein lies the mystery : that
each of these tiny specks — thousands of which are huddled
together in one grain of wheat — is possessed of life, and
is capable of producing a new plant of its own order.
You will observe that the globules are of the simplest
character. They are not held together by a common re-
ceptacle — as peas, for example, are by their husk — but
they just adhere together till separated by a gust of wind,
or a passing shower. In the case of the kind under
examination, the grains of wheat afford sufficient protec-
tion to these minute fungi, which formerly bore the
botanical name of Uredo, from a Latin word uro, I burn,
on account of the corn which is affected by some species
appearing as if scorched and burnt up. This is the
simplest kind of vegetable fungus, consisting as it does of
a mere collection of spores, unconnected by a receptacle
or ascus. They are interesting on this account, seeing
that sporidia — which are really naked and unprotected by
a native or homogeneous covering — occur but rarely among
the fungi, whence the fungologist relies for guidance in
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 95
his classification upon the presence or absence of a spore-
bearer. Two great primary divisions exist — the first,
known as Sporifera, being represented by our friend, or
rather enemy, smut ; the second, called Sporidifera, in-
cluding all those species whose spores are enclosed in
cases or asci. It has been remarked (" Outlines of Botany,"
p. 183), that " blight, like brand and blast, is a term
which has been popularly applied to all these small fungi
indifferently, and is indicative of the former opinion — still
entertained by many — that the plants affected by them
have been star-struck, burned, or blasted by some atmo-
spheric or planetary influence : names which were given
in ignorance, thus being retained long after the error has
been detected, and the truth revealed." It must be borne
in mind that though the real character of these minute
parasites has only recently been discovered, their actual
existence in ages long since past can be easily proved.
Thus " the fossil Lepidodendra, of the carboniferous
period, is found riddled and perforated by the minute
inter-penetrations of a parasitical fungus not distantly re-
lated to our too well-known potato-disease germs " (Dr.
Taylor). Further, in ancient times, " when the true
nature of these visitations was unknown, religious cere-
monies were chiefly resorted to for the purpose of avert-
ing the presumed anger of heaven, or of appeasing a sup-
posed offended deity. The Romans, in consonance with
their established customs, deified the cause of their dis-
96 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
tress ; and, after the apotheosis of the brand, it was wor-
shipped under the name of Rubigo. The Robigalia were
propitiatory sacrifices and feasts, instituted in honour of
the god ; they were held in the beginning of May, at
which time Rubigo was besought to let the corn escape
his fearful blasts." Thus, as early as the time of Ovid,
the farmer's enemy was known and feared. The question
may be asked — " How does the smut propagate itself?
If it is but a simple spore, or round speck of cellular
matter, how does it grow ? " Experiments and investiga-
tions have led to the conclusion that they are conveyed
through the cells and sap-vessels of the plant, along with
the moisture which the roots drink in, till they pervade
the most intimate structures of the plant attacked, and
eventually lodge in the parenchyma of the stem or ear,
where they produce an innumerable progeny. The attacks
of the smut are not confined to the grain. The insidious
intruder affects the culm, husk, and leaf as well, distorting
and disfiguring the whole plant, till it eventually becomes
dry and shrivelled, and looks as dirty as if it had been
employed in sweeping a chimney. As more will be said
on the subject of these micro-fungi by-and-bye, I will
here close the consideration of this painful subject,
merely suggesting that the facts which have been produced
convey a vivid idea of the corrupting nature of sin, and
teach us that, in its minutest and most insidious forms,
its attacks are to be dreaded and averted.
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LITE,
97
THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL.
HIS is another matter concern-
ing which many illustrations
may be found in our studies of
plant-life. A native of Kent or Sus-
sex, brought up in the midst of the
famous hop-gardens, will often have
admired the wonderful property pos-
sessed by the hop of winding itself
around the poles set at intervals by the little " hills," as
the beds are called in which the cultivated plants are
trained. This peculiar property is not by any means the
exclusive monopoly of the Humulus. The Scarlet Runner
(bean) also possesses it, and such flowers as the Convol-
vulus raise themselves by its means to a very great height.
The Honeysuckle is able even to clasp and climb the
stem of a large tree. But the point upon which I wish to
dwell is this : In other lands where the heat is greater, or
the climate is better suited to the rapid and luxuriant
growth of plants than our own is, one often observes how
largely the ordinary forest trees are made the ladders
q8 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
up which the climbers swiftly run, in some instances con-
tenting themselves with the mere production of a leafless
stem until the very summit of the tree is reached, when a
perfect forest of leaves and flowers is rapidly shot forth, in
which the plant seems to revel and glory. All who have
travelled in the East, or visited the more luxuriant forests
and botanical hunting grounds of South America and the
West Indies, will have observed this ; and many are the
references which are to be found in the works of travellers
to this striking peculiarity as first witnessed by them.
The late Captain Gill was much interested, as he passed
through Burmah, in witnessing the triumphant way in which
a vast creeper would encircle a graceful tree and coil
around its stem like a serpent till it reached its top ; then,
having reached the day-light, begin to put forth its foliage
and blossoms, while it laughed to scorn its supporter, which
had been gradually strangled to death by its ungrateful
sycophant ! In these tropical and equatorial forests, the
" Bush-ropes and other climbing plants wrap round the
largest of tree-trunks, twist themselves in and about the
arboreal foliage, and eventually reach the highest points,
reserving their vegetative power until then, and putting it
forth under the most favourable circumstances as to light
and heat. In the Central American forests, among such
successful schemers may be mentioned Marcgravia umbel-
lata, which flattens and moulds its own stem around the
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 99
trunks of more robustforest trees, puts forth rootclaspersto
embrace them, and so raises itself, like a parvenu, above
those which help it. And eventually, when it has reached
the light above, and over-topped the foliage of the trees
it climbed by, it throws out branches with ordinary round
stems and leaves like other plants — just as if it had not
cheated, and strangled, and done all kinds of vegetable
crimes before it satisfied its own ends !
" Wallace mentions one of the most extraordinary of the
Bauhinias he saw in the forests of the Amazon's valley,
which had a broad flattened stem, that twisted in and out
in the most singular manner, mounted to the tops of the
tallest forest trees, and thence hung down in gigantic fes-
toons many hundreds of feet in length."* The Marcgravia
and its allied rival the Norantea are very remarkable
plants ; they are not only handsome and clever climbers,
but are possessed of curious pitcher or hood shaped
bracteae, which somewhat resemble the vessels formed by
the metamorphised Leafstalks and leaves of the so called
Pitcher-plants {Nepenthes), and on the same plan as the
remarkable trap arrangements found in the Sundew (JDro-
sera) and Venus' Fly-trap (Dioncm).
A further illustration of our subject may be extracted
from Mr. Bates' interesting work entitled, " The Natural-
* " The Sagacity and Morality of Plants," by Dr. J. E. Taylor,
pp. 47-8. " Freaks and Marvels of Plant Life," chapter ix.
i oo MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
ist on the Amazons." The writer says (p. 17), "Below,
the tree trunks were everywhere linked together by sipos;
the woody flexible stems of climbing and creeping trees
whose foliage is far away above, mingled with that of the
taller independent trees. Some were twisted in strands
like cables ; others had thick stems contorted in every
variety of shape, entwining snake-like round the tree
trunks, or forming gigantic loops and coils among the
larger branches ; others again were of zigzag shape or
indented, like the steps of a staircase, sweeping from the
ground to a giddy height. It interested me much after-
wards to find that these climbing trees do not form any
particular family. There is no distinct group of plants
whose especial habit is to climb, but species of many;
and the most diverse families, the bulk of whose members
are not climbers, seem to have been driven by circum-
stances to adopt this habit. There is even a climbing
genus of palms {Desmoncus) the species of which are
called in the Tupi language Jacitara. These have slender,
thickly-spined and flexuous stems, which twine about the
taller trees from one to another, and grow to an incred-
ible length." This note well illustrates the way in which
evil habits grow and twine themselves about the person,
until eventually they become perfect masters of the
situation. Our own curious plant, known as Travellers'
joy or Virgin's Bower {Clematis Vitalbd)^ the first to be
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 101
described in most botanical manuals as belonging to the
great Ranunculus family, is a familiar illustration. This
plant is somewhat fastidious respecting the kind of soil
on which it will deign to grow, but once established it is
not easily dislodged. I remember recently taking a
walk along a country lane in North Oxfordshire where
the Clematis was growing luxuriantly, and seeing an old
man trimming the hedge I inquired of him the name of
the plant. He replied that the people called it "Honest-
wood," but he did not think the name a good one, for
he could remember the time w T hen only one single plant
was to be seen all round the neighbourhood, but now it
had spread so fast that it did not matter what the mound
(i.e., hedge) might be made of, it would choke Hazel,
Maple, Thorn or anything else, and they could not keep
a tidy hedge where the Honestwood established itself.
Vices in like manner frequently bear euphonious epithets,
for it is not always wise to call a thing by its right name.
In Notts a few years ago, when prize-fighting and other
forms of gambling were indulged in, it was no unusual
thing for a man to find himself after a night's carousal
entirely relieved of all his money. When he had become
" fresh," his "friends" had "touched" his pockets!
Well might one at such times pray to be delivered from
the gentle touch of friends. Trench lias forcefully dwelt
on this habit of covering over the ugliness of a thing by
102 MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
giving it a name which ought to be applied only to things
of worth and virtue.
As I have referred to the destructive qualities of the
Clematis I may here remark that it possesses a most
peculiar and interesting method of gaining its point, and
raising its head above, and by means of, other shoulders.
It does not wind its stem round and round as the Honey-
suckle, Hop, or Convolvulus would do, but has the pro-
perty of twisting its leaf-stalk or petiole in the direction
of the stick or branch against which it may be growing.
Hence, if the plant is growing amongst a bush or hedge-
row formed of Hazel, the twigs of the latter plant will
gradually be encircled with strong, tough leaf-stalks,
which serve to keep the straggler in its place, and give it
a footing higher and higher up the hedge or tree till at
last it overtops the whole, and then throws out a power-
ful supply of new branches, leaves and flowers, which
completely swamp the undergrowth and prevent its
growth. Wallace, speaking of the Virgin forests through
which he travelled on the Amazon, confirms the state-
ments of Mr. Bates : " Its striking characteristics (he
says) were the great number and variety of the forest
trees, their trunks rising frequently for sixty or eighty
feet without a branch and perfectly straight ; the huge
Creepers which climb about them, sometimes stretching
obliquely from their summits like the stays of a mast
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 103
sometimes winding around their trunks like immense
serpents waiting for their prey. Here, two or three
together, twisting spirally round each other, form a
complete living cable, as if to bind securely these
monarchs of the forest : there, they form tangled
festoons, and, covered themselves with smaller Creepers
and parasitic plants, hide the parent stem from sight. "
I leave the reader to follow out the train of thought for
himself.
104 MINISTR Y OF FLOWERS
HYDRA-HEADED MONSTERS.
[f^HILE some plants seem to
grow with as much leisure-
liness and ease as if they
had eternity before them
in which to reach perfec-
tion, others, like vices,
crop up everywhere, and
multiply with marvellous ra-
pidity. They can be com-
pared to nothing more aptly than to the Hydra, which,
being possessed of nine heads, dwelt in the Lernean
marshes in Argolis. Hercules being sent to slay the
monster, cut off one of its heads when instantly two shot
up in its place. Hence things which go on increasing
the more you attempt to overcome, cut off and eradicate
them, are said to be Hydra-headed. And what a host of
Hydras do we find among flowers and plants ! I have
already referred to the methods employed by the com-
posite plants, such as Thistles and the Dandelion, for
dispersing their seeds; now think for a moment about the
RESPECTING THE EVILS OE LIFE. 105
wonderful arithmetical problems which the seeds of plants
present. Suppose that one Thistle grew only two flowers
in a year and each flower head contained twenty seed?.
Out of these forty seeds which are dispersed in the year
of grace, we will allow that ten are unable to find suitable
places of growth, and ten others are devoured by small
birds and other enemies. In the second year of grace
twenty plants are growing in the place of one. These
twenty next year at the same rate will produce four hun-
dred, and in ten years we shall find that this very low
computation gives us no fewer than 512,000,000,000
Thistles ! Thus under favourable conditions one seed
would in the course of a single decade people whole acres
of land with living plants of a most pernicious and in-
jurious kind. Well says the old proverb : —
" One year's weed
Seven years' seed."
Let the Groundsel go to seed in your garden, and your
most careful attention for years to come will fail in en-
tirely undoing the mischief then done. It is perfectly
astonishing how prolific many plants are, and strange to
say the most useless and injurious flowers appear the
most productive, for " 111 weeds grow a-pace," in the
garden and field, as well as in the heart. But there are
other means by which plants, flowers, and weeds are pro-
duced. They do not all depend upon the perfection of
ioS MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
their seeds, which form the general rule for the higher
orders of plants. Secret and often complex methods are
employed by the smaller plants for reproduction, and to
these we will now give a passing glance. If we descend
to the lowest forms of plant-life, those which have to be
examined under the microscope, we shall find much in
their history to wonder at and admire. They consist of
simple cells possessed of the duplex power of coalition
and division. At certain times two of these simple struc-
tures will be drawn together when one will entirely swal-
low up the other. Having thus formed one parent cell out
of the pair, this monster now commences a process of divi-
sion, and when it has split up into a pair the newly formed
couple, again divide and so on for a long time till a whole
colony of young cells or plants has been formed, whereupon
the process of conjugation and division will again be re-
peated, till "the little one becomes a thousand. " In the
case of some of these minute forms of plant-life the newly
formed plants entirely separate from the parent, each cell
being in fact a perfect and independent plant. But in some
instances the cells hold together and thus form a string,
which supplies us with a clue to the connection between
the very lowest and highest forms of life. The individual
cells which go to form this chain, each possess the power
of dividing or forming new cells ; and so while children
and grandchildren are being begotten with surprising
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 107
rapidity, they still possess that cohesive quality which
makes them look like a miniature Scottish or Chinese
clan, or an original Hindu family circle. And these
colonies are at the same time so Liliputian in their indi-
vidual and collective capacity that thousands of cells can
co-exist in a cubic inch of water ! Now look at the
micro-fungi to which I have already directed attention in
speaking of the history of smut in corn. Where shall we
find these things ? Dr. Cooke will reply — " We need
not travel from home for examples : the unwelcome dry-
rot may have committed its ravages beneath our kitchen
floor, or the walls of our cellars, and our casks or bottles
of wine may be infected with numbers of this ubiquitous
race. Can we find no morsel of bread or cheese upon
which a mould is flourishing ? No towel or other article
of household linen presenting traces of mildew? Are we
perfectly certain that all our preserves are unvisited? or,
to come nearer to some of us, all our books untouched ?
But in places which many would consider more unlikely
still, we may look for and expect to find fungi : on white-
washed walls, plaster ceilings, dirty glass, old flannel, and
old boots and shoes, or leather of any description ; on
carpets, mats, and boards ; and even the plants of our
herbaria must be watched against their ravages. Animals
bear them about on their horns and hoofs, and the house-
fly often carries on its body the vegetating fungus which
ultimately deprives it of life. The yeast that is employed
1 08 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
in fermenting our bread and our beer is a fungus, as well
as the mildew and smut that infest our growing corn.
From cesspools and traps the minute dust-like spores of
hidden fungi rise into our dwellings ; unseen they float in
the air, entering everywhere, depositing themselves every-
where, and vegetating wherever the conditions are fav-
ourable to their development." Who has not observed
the manner in which the puff-ball has sent forth clouds
of dust when a ripe specimen has been trodden on or
squeezed ? The dust then emitted was made up of
myriads of tiny spores, which, set free from their case,
were eager to find a congenial spot on which to open
house for themselves ! Come now and look at this leaf.
It is from the well known Coltsfoot (Tussilago Far ford),
the farmer's pest. You observe that the leaf is marked
here and there with orange-coloured spots, as though a
painter had been swinging his dirty brush round to clean
it, and some of the drops of his priming had fallen on the
plant close by. You perhaps have not noticed these
spots before, but you will generally find abundance of
them in any field where the Coltsfoot is to be obtained.
Let us now put our leaf under the microscope in such a
way that the lens shall directly focus over one of these
spots. Now look ! Did you ever see an object more
surpassingly perfect and beautiful ? The microscope has
shown that this spot is made up of a hundred little
baskets of delicate silk-work filled with oranges. They are
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. icg
in reality minute fungi bearing the botanical name of yEcidia,
and this one, from its being found on Coltsfoot, is called
sEcidium tussilaginsis. The myriads of miniature oranges
which we see arranged within the open baskets below,
are in reality the spores by means of which new plants
will be produced, and for the beauty and simplicity of their
structure they may be compared with the cells of the Pro-
tococcus, or the spores of the Uredo already described.
But it is not upon the Coltsfoot alone that this hydra-
headed fungus grows. It may be found in spring time
upon the leaves and stems of the Nettle in such large
patches as to strike the eye of the pedestrian or equestrian
as he hurries along the road ; it is to be seen distorting
the leaves of the pretty wood Anemone, and covering
them with tiny dots from the tip to the petiole ; it occurs
on the Gooseberry, and has recently been found on the
Lily of the Valley ; while the form which occurs often on
the leaves of the Barberry has proved of special interest.
I recently gathered this species (sEcidiu?n berbendis) at
Witney, in Oxfordshire, when on my way to visit
" Spurgeon's Tabernacle," near Minster Lovell, for an
account of w r hich romantic spot the reader may be re-
ferred to "Lectures to My Students" (Second Series, p. 83).
Recent investigations tend to confirm the idea that there
is an intimate connection between the cluster-cup found
on the Barberry, and the rust (Puccinia) which so fre-
1 10 MINIS 'TR Y OF FL WERS
quently attacks the wheat stalk.* You would be sur-
prised to learn what a difficult matter it is to destroy
these minute forms of life. Should you dry up the pond
or water-butt in which your Algae were found growing,
and allow the scorching sun of summer to shine on the
place or cask till every sign of their presence had disap-
peared, yet, no sooner would the vessel or pool be re-
filled with water than your hydra-heads in multitudes
would be present everywhere. In a dry state the tiny
plants are often caught up by the wind and transported
to some distant spot, where finding sufficient moisture for
their purpose they again commence their work of repro-
duction. One has but to spend an hour in studies like
this in order to realise with what rapidity even the smallest
forms of life establish themselves everywhere, and thus we
obtain a vivid illustration of the properties of vice. Cut off
its head and it sends forth two : dry up its germs, and
they have only to seek a congenial spot when they at
once startle us with the rapidity with which they again com-
mence their work ! Fire seems to be almost the only thing
that will destroy the vitality of many of these micro-plants,
and the myriad forms of vice which grow around us
seem to require a force of the same description in order to
bring them into check, and lead to their extermination.
* See, however, W. G. Smith's able work on " Diseases of Field
and Garden Crops."
RESPECTING THE EVILS OE 'LIFE.
in
HE Bible states that the whole
creation is now groaning and
travailing as the result of some
great evil which has overtaken
the world (Romans viii. 22).
Elsewhere we learn that the
cause of suffering and misery is
sin, transgression of the Divine
law ; and we are told that when
man followed the advice Gf the
serpent, and threw off the yoke
which God had placed upon his
shoulders, resolving to be a free
man, he brought himself and others into bondage and
captivity. Hence, whatever method may be adopted for
interpreting the statements made respecting the origin of
evil, we find that the plants and flowers supply us with
abundant
EVIDENCES OF THE FALL,
We will dwell on that particular evidence to which re-
ference is made in Genesis iii. 17-18, "Cursed is the
1 1 2 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life ; Thorns also and Thistles shall it bring
forth [or cause to bud] to thee, and thou shalt eat the
herb of the field." I cannot better illustrate what I wish
to enforce in this connection than by quoting the beauti-
ful and thoughtful words of Dr. Macmillan ("The Ministry
of Nature," p. 104) : "Many individuals believe that we
have in this curse the origin of Thorns and Thistles, that
they were previously altogether unknown in the economy
of nature. It is customary to picture Eden as a paradise
of immaculate loveliness, in which everything was perfect,
and all the objects of nature harmonised with the holiness
and happiness of our first parents. The ground yielded
only beautiful flowers and fruitful trees — every plant
reached the highest ideal of form, colour, and usefulness
of which it was capable. Preachers and poets in all ages
have made the most of this beautiful conception. It is
not, however, Scripture or scientific truth, but human
fancy. Nowhere in the singularly measured and reticent
account given in Genesis of man's first home, do we find
anything, if rightly interpreted, that encourages us to
form such an ideal picture of it. It was admirably
adapted to man's condition, but it was not in all respects
ideally perfect. The vegetation that came fresh from God's
hand, and bore the impress of His seal that it was all
very good, was created for death and reproduction ; for
RESPECTING 7 HE EVILS OF LIFE. 113
it was called into being as ' the herb yielding seed, and
the fruit-tree bearing fruit, whose seed is in itself.' We
must remember, too, that it was before and not after the
Fall that Adam was put into the garden ' to dress and
keep it.' The very fact that such a process of dressing
and keeping was necessary, indicates in the clearest
manner that nature was not at first ideally perfect. The
skill and toil of man called in, we suppose that there were
luxuriant growths to be pruned, tendencies of vegetation
to be checked or stimulated, weeds to be extirpated,
tender flowers to be trained and nursed, and fruits to be
more richly developed . . . From this law of the
universal diffusion of plants arises also, of necessity, the
tendency to form thorns. For when plants are struggling
with each other for the possession of the soil, some
species must be so crowded that they cannot develop
themselves freely ; and therefore, owing to the exhaustion
of the soil and the pressure around them, they must pro-
duce abortive Branches or Thorns. We have every reason
to believe that this law existed in the pre-Adamite w r orld,
and was in full operation before the Fall . . . The
Hebrew form of the curse implies, not that a new thing
should happen, but that an old thing should be intensified
and exhibited in new relations. Just as the rainbow,
which was formerly a mere natural phenomenon, became
after the Flood the symbol of the great world covenant ;
1 14 MINISTR Y OF FL WERS
just as death, which, during all the long ages of geology,
had been a mere phase of life, the termination of exist-
ence, became after the Fall the most bitter and poisonous
fruit of sin ; so Thorns which in the innocent Eden were
the effects of a law of vegetation, became significant in-
timations of man's deteriorated condition." It is not,
however, alone in connection with Eden and the Fall of
Man that we find Thorns and Briers spoken of as evidenc-
ing the degradation of the human race. In various in-
stances prophetic Scripture employs the figure. Isaiah
speaks of the desolation which shall befall the enemies of
the church in the following expressive terms (ch. xxxiv.
13), "Thorns shall come in her palaces. Nettles and
Brambles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be an
habitation of dragons, and a court for owls." Elsewhere
(ch. xxxii. 13), we read that "Upon the land of my
people shall come up Thorns and Briers ; yea, upon all
the houses of joy in the joyous city; because the palaces
shall be forsaken ; the multitude of the city shall be left ;
the forts and towers shall be for dens forever, a joy of
wild asses, a pasture of flocks ; until the spirit be poured
upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful
field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest."
Here we are reminded that whereas Briers and Thorns,
Brambles, Nettles and Weeds follow the curse, luxuriance
and beauty crown the land, which secures the blessing
RESPECTING THE EVILS OB LITE. 115
of heaven. " The wilderness and the solitary place shall
be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom
as the Rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice
even with joy and singing ; the glory of Lebanon shall be
given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they
shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our
God" (Isaiah xxxv. 1-2).
In the extract given above a hint has already been sup-
plied respecting the origin of the Thorns or prickly points
with which many plants are endowed. It is, however,
very doubtful whether that explanation will by any means
cover all the difficulties suggested by the study of these
apparently abnormal branches. Their form, shape,
appearance, and use, are very varied, and Thorns or
Prickles are not confined to any one order or family of
plants. . Let us examine some of the more prominent
and well known representatives. We need not dwell
upon the Nettle, either as we know it in England, or as
it is met with in the East. The Thistle family will at
once recur to every mind, and if ever a group of plants
was suggestive of a curse this is. Look at the rapidity
with which it spreads, think how difficult of extirpation
when once established, and reflect on the almost utter
uselessness of the land which is infected, or the crops
among which this enemy of cultivation grows. Its very
name means " the tearer " because it scratches and tears
1 1 6 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
the flesh, or other material which touches it. Thistles
grow everywhere, and since they could not be overlooked
they have gathered around themselves a number of fancies
and associations of various kinds. Respecting one
Thistle with spotted leaves it is affirmed that drops of the
Virgin's milk produced the stains. The Carline Thistle was
employed, if tradition may be trusted, by Charlemagne
for the purpose of curing the plague which was rapidly
carrying off his army, an angel having mercifully pointed
out the remedy. As the flower, which is large and hand-
some, regularly closes before rain, it is frequently em-
ployed on the continent for indicating changes in the
weather, just as Sea-weed is used by our own peasantry.
The Scotch Thistle has secured for itself lasting memory
and admiration from the fact (if fact it be) that its thorns
pierced the foot of a Dane, and so led to the delivery of
the noble sons of the soil from the perils of an invasion.
" Proud Thistle ! emblem dear to Scotland's sons,
Begirt with threatening points, strong in defence,
Unwilling to assault."
The Holly, too, is provided with thorns, but it may not
be everyone who has observed that the uppermost leaves
of a Holly bush are devoid of these protecting points.
Southey has called attention to this fact in some beauti-
ful lines which we may here take the liberty of quoting.
"O, reader ! hast thou ever stood to see
The Holly tree ?
RESPECTING THE EVILS OE LIFE. 117
The eye that contemplates it well perceives
Its glossy leaves,
Ordered by an Intelligence so wise
As might confound an atheist's sophistries.
" Below a circling fence its leaves are seen
Wrinkled and keen ;
No grazing cattle through their prickly round
Can reach to wound
But, as they grow where nothing is to fear,
Smooth and unarm'd the pointless leaves appear."'
Then there isthe Knee-holly orButcher's Broom {Ruscus
aculeatus), which is one of the most curious and interest-
ing of English plants. Its true leaves are very despicable
organs, but in their place we have another organ de-
veloped, which, in addition to the sharp prickle which
surmounts it, bears on its under surface a flower
which is in due course followed by a large Red Berry.
We are here reminded of the well known Cactus tribe.
If in the last-named plant the footstalk of the leaf takes
the place of the true leaf, in the Cactus the stem fre-
quently assumes the shape, and performs the functions
of leaves, the true leaves having been transformed into
prickles of a most defiant character. In very many
foreign lands we find the prickles of such like plants
turned to good account. In the Holy Land, Egypt,
India, China, the West Indies, Africa, and elsewhere, the
Cactus, Prickly Pear, or some allied plant, is employed
for making hedges, just as the Holly or Thorn may be
1 1 8 MINISTR Y OF FL WFRS
at home. I have myself seen hedges in Eastern lands
, formed by the Euphorbia, and we are told that when our
soldiers have been obliged to force their way through such
protective growths, they have suffered severely from the
results. When we bear in mind that great evaporation
takes place through the leaves, we see how admirably the
Cacti are adapted for luxuriant growth in the hottest and
most barren spots, such as rocks, deserts, the roofs of
houses, and the tops of walls. One species of this family
is famous for the peculiar kind of prickles which it pro-
duces, on which account it is called the Tooth-pick
Cactus. It is popularly asserted that the monkeys of
Chili were so disgusted with the prickliness of the
Araucana, or " Monkey Puzzle" tree, and other plants,
that they have entirely deserted the place.
In our own island the family called Rosacea^, is
specially famous for the number of Spine or Thorn
bearing plants it contains. It is also curious to observe
that while the Medlar in a cultivated state is free from
Thorns, it has them when found wild. This will remind
us of a similar fact connected with other trees. The
Apple is thornless, but the Crab has very strong spikes
at the tips of many of its branches. The Plum tree is
often quite free from spines, but those of the wild Plum,
Sloe, or Blackthorn, are possessed of surprising strength.
The Rose itself is so famous for its prickles that we often
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 119
say there is never a Rose without a thorn. This is not
literally correct, although as a popular statement of a
general fact it may well be allowed to pass unchallenged.
The Bramble, which also belongs to the Rose tribe, is
well supplied with thorns, and many a poor sheep has had
his w T ool rudely torn from its back by the curved prickles
of this well-known plant. Thorns are of great variety of
shape and form. Some are straight, polished, gradually
tapered, finely pointed ; others are blunt and coarse, as
witness the Cactus on the one hand and the Blackthorn
on the other. Some are curved so as to look like a bird's
claw, and when a thing has once been caught it is not
easily disentangled. Some are comparatively harmless,
others are equally poisonous. Some are woody and will
penetrate hard material, others are soft and hairy, only
entering the delicate flesh of the ' unprotected animal.
In the economy of nature they each have their place.
While they can be turned by human art to man's account,
and be made useful as defences, they also act as de-
fences to the plants themselves. Without these bristling
bayonets the young plants would often fare badly in the
struggle for existence. Dr. Taylor remarks in his own
felicitous style, " The possession of stinging cells, like
those of the Nettle, is evidently intended to be defensive.
It is only so, however, against certain enemies, as for
instance, herbiverous animals ; for our Nettles are sup-
1 20 M1NISTR Y OF FL WERS
porters of many insect larvae. The stiffened kinds of
hairs we call Thistles, and which are so abundantly
present in some species of those composite plants which
on that account receive their well known name, are
doubtless protective against herbiverous animals, although
the donkey has a mouth hard enough to be unaffected by
them. These Thistles, covering stem and even leaf, are
more abundant in some species of Carduum than others.
Not only must they be protective against larger animals,
but also against slugs and snails, which find it unpleasant
to trail their molluscous bodies over such a chevaux
de /rise. The latter creatures appear to be much more
deterred by the spiny mechanism which plants possess,
than by the poisons they secrete. The edges of the
leaves in the Holly curl and stiffen into spines in such a
defensive manner, that its admirable adaptation suggested
one of Southey's best odes. In the Gorse or Furze the
leaves harden into spines, which are defensive against all
comers, although sheep feed greedily upon them when
they are young, succulent and tender. In the Cactus the
fleshy stem performs leaf functions, whilst the true leaves
are aborted into the numerous needle-like prickles which
cover its surface, and effectively protect it against the
animals to whom its abundant juices would be so welcome
in the arid deserts where the Cactus most loves to grow."
Even the Holy Land is not free from the effects of the
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LITE. 121
curse. Thomson tells us that the Thorns, and especially
that kind called bellait, which covers the country, are so
folded together as to be utterly inseparable, and being
united by thousands of small intertwining branches, when
the torch is applied they flash and flame instantly, like
stubble fully dry (compare Nahum i. 10). Thorns ana
Briers, he adds, grow so luxuriantly here that they must
always be burned off before the plough can operate.
Hence in his beautiful Parable of the Sower, the Saviour
ells us how some seed fell among thorns, and this helps
us to understand the imprecation of Job when he says :
"If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have
caused the owners thereof to lose their life, let thistles
grow instead of wheat, and cockles (or noisome weeds)
instead of barley " (Job xxxi. 39-40). The writer of the
Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the earth in its twofold
aspect of fertility and barrenness, and says, " That which
beareth thorns and briers is rejected and is nigh unto
cursing, whose end is to be burned " (Heb. vi. 8).
Throughout the sacred writings, in fact, Thorns and Briers
are associated with the curse of God, this in its turn being
the reward of sin. Thus in speaking of the vineyard of
the Lord of Hosts (Isaiah v. 6.) which brought forth no
fruit save wild grapes, the husbandman says,, " I will lay
it waste ; it shall not be pruned nor digged ; but there
shall come up Briers and Thorns." In Hosea too we read
1 22 M1NISTR Y OF FLO WFRS
that " The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be
destroyed ; the Thorn and Thistle shall come upon their
altars " (Hosea x. 8) ; while the same prophet, foretelling
the destruction of their temples and goodly places, says,
" Nettles shall possess them ; thorns shall be in their
tabernacles." Everyone has observed with what readiness
Nettles and Thorns usually grow over places which were
once teaming with life and beauty, but have through
some cause or other been deserted. The Hebrew word
Dardar, which is employed in Genesis iii. 18, is generally
derived from a root meaning u to tear" (Mr), so that the
etymology corresponds with that of our words Thorn and
Thistle. Whatever may have been the early condition of
the earth, certain it is that to-day it continues to bring
forth Thorns and Thistles, so that it is only by the sweat
of his brow that man can eat the produce of the soil.
RESPECTING THE EVILS 01 LITE.
I2J
HE law says : " Thou shait not
steal," and "Thou shalt do
no murder," yet these laws are disre-
garded in the plant world. We therefore
come now to study another of the evils of
life as here illustrated by
BREAKING THE LAW.
We have ail noticed how insects prey
upon plants, and how scarcely a flower,
herb, or tree is free from the depredations
of aphides, beetles, caterpillars, cicadas, or some other
thievish or murderous assailant of plant life. But
it is only within recent years that people generally
have been made aware of the amount of evil which is
wrought among flowers, grasses, herbs, and fruits by means
of various species of microscopic fungi. Some of the
more remarkable parasites were at one time regarded as
belonging to some stage or other of animal life, but under
the penetrating gaze of the powerful lens the life history
of many of these enemies of plants has been traced, the
parasites themselves being now defined, arranged, classified,
J 24 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
named, just as are the flowers and plants on which they
are found preying. It would not be fair if I were to con-
vey the impression that these tiny plants do no good.
They are certainly greatly needed in the economy of
nature. Just as the tiny animalculse found in putrid flesh
serve as scavangers, and assist in the rapid removal of dan
^erous and disease-bringing portions of matter, so these
insignificant fungi are equally busy breaking up the leaves
of plants, and disintegrating their tissues, till eventually
the decaying mass serves for food and nourishment to
a new and rising race. But even the blessings of life
sometimes become its greatest evils. Money is indis-
pensable, but it is a root from which all kinds of mis-
chief spring. Wine may nourish and stimulate, but if
taken in excess it produces misery and a broken constitu-
tion. Thus with these plants of various kinds which prey
upon others, while they live on exhausted and decaying
matter they serve a useful end ; while they cause destruc-
tion of weeds and noxious plants which would otherwise
become super-abundant their services are to be desired,
but when they attack our vines, potatoes, fruit trees, corn
and garden crops, we begin to thiuk that we are having
" too much of a good thing." But murder and theft are
not the crimes of parasitic fungi alone. In the floral world
there are many other plants which are guilty of like offen-
ces. Look at the Dodder, for example. Dr. Taylor speaks
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 125
of this family of plants (Cuscutaox Cassytha) as the most
ingenious of our native vegetable robbers. " There is a
refinement about them not indulged in by Parasites gen-
erally : they are very particular as to the kind of plants
they attack. They can only subsist, in fact, upon the sap
of certain species, and this therefore restricts their para-
sitism ; and consequently the most abundant and widely
dispersed of them is Guscuta Europcza, which is least par-
ticular, and attacks Thistles, Oats, and, in short, any plants
that are crowded together. When the seeds of the Dod-
der drop into the soil they soon germinate, and the little
delicate, thread-like embryo plant makes its appearance
above ground, bearing its seed covering like a protective
cap at its apex. It then looks or feels about for its
victim, and dies down in a few days if it cannot find
one. The seeds have no cotyledons, like those pos-
sessed by the acorn or bean, but they are well pro-
vided for instead with a store of albumen (endosperm)
on which the minute embryo subsists until it is fortunate
enough to meet with its prey. As soon as the latter is
found, the wire-like stem takes one or two coils around
the victim, and develops a series of sucker-like aerial
roots which penetrate into its tissues to the upflowing
sap."* Thus this monstrosity is provided with all the
apparatus necessary for sucking the blood and taking
* " The Sagacity and Morality of Plants," p. 246.
t 26 M1NISTR Y OF FLOWERS
away the vital energy of its victim. The Dodder not only
attacks our wild plants, Gorse, Heather, and Thistle : it
preys also upon the farmers' Flax and Clover, and I have
a beautiful specimen of one of the famous Banksias or
Bottle-brushes from Tasmania upon which a species of
Cassytha has most securely and effectually fixed itself.
The woods of Hongkong, the forests of Malaya, India and
New Holland, and the trees of various parts of America,
are constantly the victims of this class of parasites, and in
those tropical regions where vegetable life is luxuriant we
can well imagine that their services are often indispens-
able, disagreeable as they may be to the plants they attack.
In China there is a well known species of Cuscuta
(Cassytha filiformis) which commonly lives on the Eu-
phorbia. The flowers grow in bunches like miniature
grapes, and we are told that the plant has been used med-
icinally in Senegal. It is curious that though these plants
are of such peculiar habit and growth their flowers are
similar to those of the laurel.
A very thrilling description is given by Mr. Bates ("The
Naturalist on the River Amazon") of the way in which
some plants commit murder. " There is one kind of
parasitic tree (he says) very common near Para which ex-
hibits this feature in a very prominent manner. It is
called the Sipo Matador, or the ' Murderer Liana.' It
belongs to the Fig order. The base of its stem would be
RESPECTING THE EVILS GF LIFE. 127
unable to bear the weight of the upper growth ; it is
obliged, therefore, to support itself on a tree of another
species. In this it is not essentially different from other
climbing plants and trees ; but the way the Matador sets
about it is peculiar, and produces certainly a disagreeable
impression. It springs up close to the tree on which it
intends to fix itself, and the wood of its stem grows by
spreading itself like a plastic mould over one side of the
trunk of its supporter. It then puts forth from each side
an arm-like branch, which grows rapidly, and looks as
though a stream of sap were flowing, and hardening as it
went. This adheres closely to the trunk of the victim,
and the two arms meet on the opposite side, and blend
together. These arms are put forth at somewhat regular
intervals in mounting upwards, and the victim, when the
strangler is full grown, becomes tightly clasped by a num-
ber of inflexible rings. These rings gradually grow larger
as the murderer flourishes, rearing its crown of foliage to
the sky, mingled with that of its neighbour, and in course
of time they kill it by stopping the flow of sap. The
strange spectacle then remains of the selfish parasite
clasping in its arms the lifeless and decaying body of its
victim, which had been a help to its own growth." I am
afraid, after this, the story of English robbers and mur-
derers will be tame, but such romance as this is truly
saddening. We have, no doubt, all seen what efforts the
1 28 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
Woodbine, Convolvulus, or Ivy will make to rise in the
world, but there are not many plants which are butchered
outright by these ambitious climbers. The Dodder, too,
is more of a thief than a murderer, and if its host can
only find dinner enough for itself and its parasite, things
may still go on fairly well. The Mistletoe is another of
the thievish clan. It lives upon a great variety of plants
— Thorn, Apple, Oak, and others— and seldom thinks of
supporting itself on roots of its own. The botanist will
tell you that the Mistletoe and its allies are shrubby
plants — in general, true parasites, and very rarely growing
in the ground. There are two species of plant which
have much in common, and alike bear the name of
Mistletoe — the Loranthus and Viscum. Their roots are
always simple ; " and so greedily do they suck up the
vital juices of the plants on which they live, that even
fluids coloured by art jnay be detected in their transit.
They will grow on almost all exogenous trees — the lact-
escent ones only excepted ; and in tropical America and
Asia, where the more showy Loranthi are common, they
often, with their pendant clusters of rich scarlet blossoms,
outvie in splendour, and almost supersede, the flowers
and foliage of their nursing stocks. Loranthus jffiuroficeus
is, in the southern parts of Europe, a very frequent para-
site on the oak, and indeed inhabits no other tree ; while
the Viscum is very seldom found thereon, being chiefly
I face p. 128.
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 129
confined to the hawthorn and the apple. This circum-
stance has led some naturalists to suppose the Loranthus
to have been the Mistletoe of the Druids, and to believe
— as it is not now indigenous to Britain — that when
Druidism was suppressed, every vestige of that stupendous
superstition was* so completely swept away that even the
sacred plant was extirpated here. Such a speculation,
however, seems so wild that the following is offered in its
stead. The Mistletoe, although seldom found on the
oak, is not exclusively a parasite of other trees, and its
rarity on the former not improbably led to the preference
which the old botanists, as well as the Druids, gave to the
oak-mistletoe ( Viscum quercus) over the hawthorn-mistle-
toe ( V. oxyacanthi), when these vegetables were held in
much repute in medicine. Hence, the very circumstance
of a search beinsj made for quercine. mistletoe, in an aee
when these islands were covered with forests of oak, is
opposed to the idea of the Loranthus being the plant in
question, for had it then been indigenous here, the oak
would have been its common, if not exclusive, habitat ;
and this confirms the belief that the Viscum was the
branch which the Druid went with such solemnity to-
cull " (" Outlines of Botany," p. 764).
It does not appear to me to be necessary to dwell long
on such plants as the Broom-rape (Orobanc/ie) or Tooth-
wort (Lathrcea), because, while they undoubtedly are
130 MINIS TR Y OF FL WERS
guilty of breaking the law, and robbing their hosts of the
nutriment they require for their own support, they are
comparatively rare, or grow on such hardy plants as are
able, in most cases, to resist the evil results of their para-
sitism. It is more particularly to the ravages of what we
have termed micro-fungi that I would direct the reader's
attention, and those who would take up and follow out
this most interesting of studies may now find, ready to
hand, abundant aids. Not only are there a number of
collectors who will readily exchange duplicates of these
objects, but Dr. M. C. Cooke has produced a delightful
handbook to the subject,* with many coloured illustra-
tions, at an incredibly low price ; while Mr. Worthington
G. Smith has more recently done great service by publish-
ing another similar work,f which teems with facts of the
greatest possible importance and interest. There is not
a month during the whole year when some or other of
these fungi may not be found. You may study them
under the microscope at Christmas, by placing a little of
the green mould from a decayed orange on your slide ; or
by pulling to pieces the nuts you are eating, and examin-
ing those which are decayed ; or by looking at a piece of
green Stilton cheese. By so doing, the spores and my-
* " Microscopic Fungi, Rust, Smut, Mildew, and Mould," by
M. C. Cooke, M.A., LL.D., A.L.S. London ( 4 th Ed.) 1878.
+ "Diseases of Field and Garden Crops," by Worthington G.
Smith, F.L.S., M.A.I. London. 1884.
RESPECTING THE EVILS OF LIFE. 131
celium will become familiar objects, and you will be
gaining help in the manipulation ot the instrument. You
may find abundance of fungi of the choicest kind {Phrag-
midium bulbosuni) on the blackberry leaves that are still
hanging on the brambles at New Year, as I have recently
done on the borders of Sherwood Forest ; while a friend
has sent specimens gathered in January near Bristol.
The leaves bear a violet spot on their upper surface, as a
rule, when they are attacked by this fungus, and a very
beautiful object do the pustules form. The spot indicates
that the parasite has already commenced its ravages, and
is eating out the vitals of the leaf, and so preparing the
way for next year's growth. In February, you will find
the pretty golden rust on the leaves of the common
groundsel {Trichobasis senecioms), which the leaves of
Anemone and lesser Celandine will begin to show signs
of their pretty cluster-cups in March. Henceforth, you
will see fungi regularly appearing on leaves of coltsfoot,
primrose, goatsbeard, mint, willow-herb, daisy, and a hun-
dred other plants. These are but the intimate relatives
of those moulds and other fungi which attack our onions,
potatoes, parsnips, and lettuce, as well as our vines, pear-
trees, and barberry. What ravages these latter produce,
and how they work entire destruction in the corn-field
and market garden, the reader will be able to see in the
books already referred to.
132 MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
I may remark, in conclusion, that the plants, in many
instances, retaliate and slay their enemies. A friend sent
me some time since a tiny Sundew (Drosera) from Tas-
mania, the leaves of which were considerably smaller than
a threepenny piece. Having cut off the tentacles from
one of the leaves, I placed them under a powerful lens,
when lo ! the tiny leg of an antipodean insect — too minute
to be detected by the unaided eye — came to light!
This conclusively showed that the little plant of which I
was in possession had slain, at least, one of its visitors.
The lamented Darwin has written an elaborate work on
" Insectivorous Plants/' in which he gives us some won-
derful information about the way in which the Sundews,
Venus' Fly-trap, and other plants destroy insects. We
have a few other English plants which are guilty of similar
crimes, as, for example, the Butterwort {Pinguicula) and
the Sticky Campion {Silene anglica)^ or " Catchfly," as it
is called. As this little book, however, is intended to be
suggestive rather than exhaustive, I will content myself
with having given these few particulars, hoping that they
will suffice to make the reader curious to examine the
subject for himself.
BOOK III.
^of^S>kCL*yr>
\L§e dilxnxstxx} of Jfowers
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE,
.oC^XP,oo-
: Dear to humanity these flowers,
The dazzling dreams of childish hours,
The hopes, the joys, the griefs of years
Have dropped on these like falling tears. "
BOOK III.
^e Wtrtttes of $iU.
N old writer says that virtue is the pursuit
and exemplification of those things which
experience teaches us to be best for our-
selves and for society in general. This
v popular, though somewhat inexact and
unscientific, explanation of the term ex-
• actly suits our purpose. Strictly speak-
ing, it may be questioned whether the plants
possess such things as virtues at all in the
ethical sense, although the old herbalists were
loud in their praises of the medical virtues of
" every idle weed that grows;" but whether this point is open
to dispute or not one thing is certain, viz., that the plants
teach many lessons, which, if properly learned and appre
ciated by us, will encourage us to cultivate more largely
and persistently than we have done before those habits of
1 36 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
economy, purity, humility, liberality, perseverance and
restfulness, which go a long way towards the production
of a virtuous life.
We may, I think, commence this branch of our study
by observing the
ECONOMY OF PLANT LIFE.
The term economy is sometimes employed with refer-
ence to a system of rules and ceremonies, sometimes in
regard to regular operations, as the economy of nature ;
but its most general use is that which concerns the
management of affairs, the expenditure of money or
material wealth, the nurturing and preservation of those
qualities and materials which are of greatest importance
with reference to the well-being of the person in its social
or physical relations. One man who is of delicate consti-
tution economises his strength, and to do so refrains from
speaking in public, taking part in exciting debates, keep-
ing late hours, spending much time in society. Another
man of slender means economises his money by banking
all he can spare, buying only such articles as are abso-
lutely necessary, and adding to his little stock by further
careful labours and judicious speculations. What we
thus regard as a virtue and discretion in man we may
witness also in the economy of nature, whether the provi-
sion be made by the plants themselves, or be regarded as
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE, 137
a law which has been imposed upon them, which they are
bound to obey.
Begin with the root of plants, and, in order that your
study may commence when the charms of the floral
world are few and you have leisure for your work, take
, the hyacinth in your glass, or the crocus, tulip, snowdrop,
among flowers properly so called, potato, yam, artichoke,
onion, carrot among vegetables, and other plants of simi-
lar description famous for their bulbs or tubers. If asked
why the onion or potato produced tubers or bulbs, you
would probably answer, " It is a wise provision of Nature
in order to secure food for man." We are so apt to think
of man as the only thing worth considering by Providence
that we naturally conclude that everything has reference
to his well-being. But if the onion and potato possess
special forms of root (speaking in a popular sense) in
order to serve mankind, why should the crocus and
hyacinth have similar roots or bulbs when they are unfit
for human food? Evidently we have to seek another
solution of the question, and the reply we give must be one
which will take in all the forms with which we are familiar,
whether good for animal food or not, in which the pro-
pagative principle of plants is hid in their bulbs, corms,
tubers, or whatever else we may call them. The answer
is a simple one : provision has been made by the thrifty
plant for future contingencies, something has been laid
1 38 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
aside against a time of need, and stores of starch and other
materials have been accumulated to enable the plant to
bear the exhaustion which growth, flowers, fruit and inci-
dental demands may produce. Biennial plants, or those
which flower the second year after the seeds are sown, are
subject to great strain during the period of flowering,
hence we find that in their normal condition they produce
a large root, or in some other way lay in a good supply of
material during the first year, against the season of flower-
ing, when the supply will be entirely exhausted in the
endeavour of the plant to secure its further propagation
by means of seeds. Take, for example, the well-known
carrot or parsnip. During the first summer after the seed
is sown these plants produce enormous taproots which
are filled with sugar and other nutritive matter. Let
them remain in the ground till the second spring, or take
them up during the winter and plant them again when the
open season returns, and this year they put forth large
umbels of flowers and produce abundance of seed. But
look now at the root. It has been in the ground as before,
but the demands made upon it have been such that its
radicles or rootlets have been utterly incapable of securing
sufficiently large stores of nutriment to keep them supplied,
and the plant has fallen back upon the stores laid up
during the preceding year. If you cut up the root now,
instead of a fleshy, sweet, and useful vegetable, you find
/
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 139
a lank, woody, and useless stock. Take the onion, and
you will call to mind the fact that your bed has sometimes
produced bulbs which have begun to flower the same year
as the seeds were sown. But since these plants have not
been able to lay by a sufficient capital, the gardener utterly
ignores the seeds which may be thus produced, and takes
the finest bulbs which the bed has raised for securing
seed another year. When these bulbs are planted the
second spring they will probably be fine fleshy bulbs some
two or three inches in diameter, but when the seed-vessels
are ripe and the head is seen at the top of the stalk as
large as the one which formerly existed at the bottom,
the gardener knows that its success has been secured at
the expense of the bulb. These habits of economy have
been of great service to the animal world and to man, as
well as to the plants themselves. Aware of the possession
of these qualities by the plants, man has cultivated those
various vegetables to which we have referred for his own
ends, and onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots and similar
plants have come to be regarded by us as indispensable
articles of diet. " The farmer, by increasing (by means
of cultivation) the size of his root crops, increases the
store of nourishing matter, and then by removing them
from the soil in the autumn he preserves for the use of
his stock nutrient substances which would otherwise have
gone in the ensuing summer to support the growth of
140 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
flowers and seeds." In the case of the potato we find the
flower growing this year from the tubers produced last
year, and every novice in gardening is aware that if the
blossoms of the potato are abundant, and are allowed to
produce " potato balls " or seeds, the underground tubers
suffer more or less as the result. The common artichoke
produces underground tubers in much the same way as
does the potato, but it is not often that the plant blossoms
with us. During the month of October, 1884, I was
visiting the Isle of Wight, and whilst walking one day
near the Ventnor Hospital, saw a lad with what appeared
to be a branch containing miniature sunflowers. I at once
recognised them as the flowers of the Jerusalem artichoke,
which the boy also assured me they were. But in my
own garden at Brackley, on the borders of Northants and
Oxon, I did not obtain a single flower from the whole of
my plantation, which was a strong, healthy, and large one.
The ingredients of which the various kinds of tubers and
bulbs are composed vary greatly in different plants, ac-
cording to the use they have to serve, the nature of the
plant itself, the situation in which it grows, and so on.
Artichokes and turnips are much more watery than pota-
toes, and we are told that the hog-plum (Spondias tuber set)
holds a large quantity of clear fluid, sometimes upwards
of a pint being found in its tubercles. One kind of hog-
plum (S. mangiferd) is known in Sanskrit as the Amrata,
IRIS (WITH BULB).
[face p. 140.
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 141
a name which it has received from its similarity to the
mango which is called Amra. Just as a certain kind of
palm which we have often seen growing in the East under
the name of the Traveller's Joy {Urania) is made
to yield the water which has collected in its trunk for the
refreshment of the traveller, so Livingstone tells us that
certain plants found in the Desert of Sahara are made to
serve an important use among the inhabitants of that un-
inviting waste, by giving up the store of water which they
have accumulated in their roots or tubers. These are the
veritable counterparts in the vegetable world of the camel
in the animal.
Every one is familiar with our common Arum,* popu-
larly known as Lords and Ladies {Arum maculatum), and
many are aware that the root of that plant has been largely
used in commerce. Nowadays the feeling in its favour
is not so strong as formerly, but the fact nevertheless re-
mains that the conn of the Arum contains, among other
things, a great deal of starch. Now in the East, Arums
are found which grow to a great size, and Dr. Hooker, in
his interesting Himalayan Journals, tells us (Vol. II.,
p. 69) that he once came to a spot where some great
tuberous rooted plants of this family were abundant. He
adds : " The ground was covered with small pits, in which
* A most interesting study of this plant will be found, with il-
lustrations, in Science Gossip for March and April, 1885.
142 MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
were large wooden pestles ; these are used in the prepara-
tion of food from the Arums, to which the miserable in-
habitants of the valley have recourse in spring, when then-
yaks (or native oxen) are calving. The roots are bruised
with the pestles and thrown into these holes with water.
Acetous fermentation commences in seven or eight days,
which is a sign that the acrid-poisonous principle is dis-
sipated ; the pulpy, sour, and fibrous mass is then boiled
and eaten, its nutriment being the starch." Space will
not permit me to speak of the Yams and sweet Potatoes
which in China, the South Seas, and elsewhere take the
place of our cultivated Solanum ; but these plants supply
further illustration of our subject, and show the economy
which is rigidly practised.
Let us return to give another glance at our common
wild flowers, and we will commence with the Orchids,
about the blossoms of which more may be said by-and-
bye. The most common and best known English repre-
sentative of this large and interesting family of plants is
the purple Orchis, commonly known as Ramshorns (Sus-
sex), King Fingers (Midlands), Ganfer Greggles (Somer-
set), or Cuckoo-flower. Unlike the foreign Orchids which
have recently been so much prized and sought for, our
home-grown specimens live in the soil, and if you will dig
up a specimen with care, it will be found to contain at its
base a couple of tubers ranging from the size of a filbert
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 143
to that of a horse chestnut. One of these miniature
potatoes will be found to be flabby and shrinking if the
plant is well advanced, while the other is firm and white.
Between them grows the stem bearing the flower. These
ophrydo-bulbs, as they have sometimes been termed, con-
tain a store of starch and gum for the nutriment of the
plant, and the flabby tuber is the one which has already
begun to part with the material which, during the past
year, it had been able by economy and care to lay .aside.
You will occasionally find the bulbous-rooted Crowfoot
(Ranunculus bulbosus) presenting a similar peculiarity,
though as a rule the exhausted bulb decays much more
rapidly than does that of the Orchis. The common Pig-
nut (Bunium flexuosum)) which belongs to the Carrot and
Parsnip family ( Umbellifercz), is another case in point ;
and there are not many village school boys who have not
dug out the sweet tubers of this plant as they have passed
through copse or wood on their way to or from the seat
of learning. It is this accumulation of nutritive matter
which enables bulbs to grow when placed in glasses with
only a little water and the rays of sunlight to stimulate
them. The water alone would not be of any service
to many species of plants, which would need a very stimu-
lating and productive soil to enable them to grow at all.
So great is the amount of material accumulated by some
bulbs, that they will bear flowers for two or three years
i 4 4 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
in succession before being perfectly exhausted ; but, on
the other hand, the finest flowers are those of the first
year ; and if a lily or other bulbous plant have its flower-
ing spike cut off for a year or two, the flower will by-and-
bye reach a greater degree of perfection than ever. So
exhausting is the process of flowering, that some plants
will not venture to put forth blossoms at all for several
years, and gardeners generally advise you to nip off the
flower, buds of young and thriving trees till they shall be
large enough to bring their fruit to perfection before be-
coming exhausted. We often hear it remarked that the
Apple season may be a poor one because it was so heavy
last year. Why is this ? It is a lesson in economy.
The trees had accumulated material, and under the in-
fluence of a favourable season gave forth the best they
possessed, even at the risk of exhaustion. Now they
must again economise, or they will become bankrupt.
Turning to another view of the subject, we learn that
the plant gives evidence of its study of economy by the
seeds it produces. The seeds of the Pea, Chestnut, Oak,
or Orange, various as are the kinds, shapes, and consti-
tuents, all bear evidence to the care which the parent has
bestowed upon them in order that they may obtain a fair
start in life. The Acorn consists of so large a quantity
of valuable nutriment that for ages it constituted an im-
portant article of human food, and swine still enjoy feed-
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OE LIFE. 145
ing on it. This arises from the fact that when the Oak
was providing for its offspring, it laid up within the horny
covering of the Acorn a store of material which would
supply the young plant with the necessary nutriment and
strength when it was attempting to accommodate itself to
mother Earth and grow into a tree. Here is an Acorn
which I have just picked up in Sherwood Forest, and
although it has not yet put forth a single root, you will
find it has begun to sprout, drawing meanwhile on its
own resources till the time shall come when it can
secure sufficient nutriment from the soil. If you are
anxious to know more about the constituent parts of the
Acorn, cut it into small portions and crush it in cold
water, when the latter will become quite milky. Put a
drop of this water under the microscope, and you will
find that it is full of granules. Now mix a little tincture
of iodine with your water and it will turn blue, teaching
you that starch is found in the Acorn. You can try a
grain of Wheat, Indian Corn or other cereals in the same
way, and you may learn from this experiment that when
you are mounting sections for the microscope, a beautiful
tint will be given to the cells which contain starch if the
section be first immersed in a solution of iodine. Again,
not only does the Hazel-bush, Oak, Chestnut-tree, or
other nut-bearing plant provide its fruit with starch or
other nutritious matter, further evidence is supplied of
146 MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
the care which is bestowed on the seed by the horny
covering or shell in which it is hid, this covering being
in some instances lined with soft vegetable hairs, which
form a nice warm bed in which the kernel may repose
during the frost and snow of winter without being de-
stroyed by the cold. Other fruits are provided with ether
coverings, either as a protection from animals, or as an ■
inducement to birds and other creatures to pluck them
and so disseminate their seeds. Of this we may have
more to say by-and-bye.
Plants do not, however, give evidence of economy in
their roots and seeds alone. Almost any plant you may
take up will afford you an illustration of our subject in
one or other of its organs. Some plants are very careful
as to the way in which they exhaust their vitality in petals
or corolla. A plant which is to be fertilized by the wind
— as all our catkin-bearers, hazel, willow, and others are
— will be obliged to produce a large amount of pollen, in
order that when the wind blows some of it may be carried
away to the pistillate flowers on another part of the plant,
or on a separate individual. Now the production of good
pollen is very expensive and exhausting work, con-
sequently wind-fertilized flowers are obliged as a rule to
abstain from the production of showy flowers. A man
who, with a limited income, wishes to buy a valuable
horse must not spend a great amount of money on finery
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OE LIFE. 147
for his wife and daughters, so a plant which has to pro-
duce much flour cannot display gaudy flowers. In the
same way, it will be observed that flowers which are self-
fertilized will usually have very insignificant blossoms, it
being necessary for the plant to reserve all its surplus
strength, in order to enable it to cope with flowers which,
by cross-fertilization, stand a better chance of holding
their own and establishing their position.
There are some plants which make a very lovely show
by means of their coloured petals, but in many instances
these plants have been obliged to curtail their expenses
in another direction, in order that they may meet the
demand which is thus made upon them. It will be
observed that many of our earliest flowers put forth their
blossoms before the leaves appear. I am not aware that
attention has been drawn to this peculiar and interesting
evidence of economy. Flowers which appear in
February and March, or during the winter season,
have not the tide in their favour. Hence we find the
Daphne (Mezereon), the Coltsfoot, the Black-thorn,
Jasmine, and many other plants bearing flowers before
the leaves ; while in other instances the leaves are out of
all proportion to the flowers, being quite insignificant in
the crocus for example. It is so in the flora of other
lands as well. The well-known Japanese apple {Pyrus
Japonica)) so frequently found trained on walls, is often
148 M1NISTR Y OF FLO WERS
in bloom before the leaves appear ; while the Chinese
Tree-pseony (Pczonia Moutan), as I have seen it at New
Year's tide in the East, often has not a single leaf when
its flowers are in their prime. The same may be said of
another curious plant {EnJzianthus)^ which is as great a
favourite with the Celestials for decorating their houses
as the holly or mistletoe is with ourselves. This shrub
bears flowers which resemble an inverted bell — which
accounts for the Cantonese name of Tiu chung Fd; and
as it grows abundantly in the south of China, large
bundles of the branches are cut and brought to Canton
every winter, just before New Year. When cut, the
flowers are as yet unopened ; but when the branches have
been allowed to stand a few days in vases supplied with
water, the bunches of waxy blossoms come out to perfec-
tion, and are a great ornament on this festive occasion.
Every observer of nature is aware that certain flowers
open their petals only at night, others only during the
early morning, at mid-day, or in the afternoon. The
white Campion and evening Primrose are examples of the
former ; then come the Goat's-beard, the Hawkweed, and
many others. The night-flowering plants are usually
fertilized by moths, and form an interesting study in
reference to economy. You will notice that the petals
are white or pale yellow, for gaudy colours would serve
no useful purpose to plants which only open shop after
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 149
sun-down ; but in the place of these bright petals there is
usually a grateful perfume, and the flowers are large, so
that they can be seen and alighted on by the moths.
Now, just as the Campion and other flowers close up the
corolla when the sun comes forth, that they may
economise during the day, so the common flower closes
its eye at night to prevent undue exhaustion. We have
all noticed the way in which, one by one, the flowers go
to sleep, and hence has arisen the Floral Clock. In wet
weather, too, many flowers refuse to open lest their
pollen or other material should be washed away and
wasted. In all these methods there is clear evidence of
strict economy.
Some plants economise by putting forth no branches,
the stem being round and large, so that it may be stored
with some valuable substance. Hence we find sago in
one kind of palm, a valuable juice in another, and
immense clusters of fruit in another. Other plants have
found the leaf to be the most important member, in con-
sequence of which they depend little on the flowers and
seeds which in some plants are indispensable, and put
forth suckers or stoles, thus propagating themselves with-
out waste.
These are a few out of many methods adopted by the
various representatives of plant life for teaching us lessons
of carefulness, prudence, and economy. The ministry of
1 50 MINISTR Y OF FLOWERS
the flowers on this point is worthy our attention. " Waste
not, want not/' says the old proverb. In the natural
world waste is carefully provided against, and every effort
is made to husband the strength of the plant and flower
that its purpose in life may be accomplished ; and we
ought to manifest the same judicious care and foresight.
RESPRC'IING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE.
LIBERALITY.
WITH all her
carefulness and
economy, nature
is never niggardly.
§! The careful can
afford to be liber-
al. From whom
do we derive the
largest amount of
support, the spendthrift, drunkard, and glutton, or the
thrifty, careful economist? The former do little for the
maintenance of our charitable and religious associations
and institutions, the latter can afford to render assistance
and not feel the shoe pinch. It is thus with the plants.
Careful as they are they are nevertheless lavish in the be-
stowal of their wealth on such insects and animals as show
them a favour, while the way in which they scatter their
seeds broadcast over the land shows how far they are from
impecuniosity. I have already dwelt on the question of
152 MINISTR Y OF FL O WERS
seeds, and given an illustration of what might take place
in the world if a certain Thistle were to produce a given
number of seeds which in due course should grow and
produce others. But let us now see what actually takes
place. Think, for example, of the Oak. If every Oak
tree were to produce two acorns we should soon have
young trees enough to stock the Sahara. But instead of
producing two seeds an Oak will frequently bring several
pecks to perfection, so that the people in the neighbour-
hood of an Oak plantation can go out and pick up
bushels of valuable nuts for the swine. When plant-life
was scarce this property would be very valuable, but now
that the world is well stocked with useful trees the Oak
might be excused from doing so much. We should be
satisfied with the two acorns yearly, and the right to use
the timber as we do to-day. But then what would the
lower animals do ? The time was when man was glad
of the nutritious seed, but the Oak is willing now to feed
the swine, the squirrel, and the mouse. If we were to
complain that the Oak provided food for the quadrupeds,
these animals in turn might point us not merely to our
Chestnut and Filbert, Walnut and Brazil, but particularly
to the splendid Cocoanut which is simply invaluable. If
one alone m every thousand of the Cocoanuts now
grown were produced, there would be a great many
more than would be required for keeping up the
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 153
race, but when its own wants are supplied the tree
does not object to give of its strength for the support
oi man. And see how liberality brings its own reward.
The Cocoanut has fed the hungry man and quenched
his thirst with its milk, provided him with a roof for his
house, string for tying his articles together, fibre for
brushes, mats, and other household purposes, and wood
for furniture, In return for all this kindness man has
taken the tree under his protection, given it the best and
most suitable soil, protected its germinating seeds, cut
out from its vitals the destructive worm, and quenched
the prairie fire, which threatened to exterminate the race!
Thus the tree is firmly established, and will live on when
many another more pretentious and showy, but less
liberal plant, has for ever perished from the earth. What
a lesson is here. " He that hath pity on the poor lendeth
to the Lord ; and that which he hath given will be paid
him again."
The plants seem frequently to act on the principle,
"Nothing ventured, nothing won;" and since many
thousands of seeds must annually perish from some cause
or other, the flower is obliged to make liberal provision in
order to meet every emergency. How often have we
gathered a Poppy capsule and rattled it, while we have
wondered how many seeds it contained. With what sur-
prise have we gazed upon the seeds as they have come
1 54 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
tumbling out in streams, and questioned why a single
Poppy should be so extravagant. We
have perhaps walked through a piece of
rough land where the Goose Grass has
flourished, and stood amazed when we
have left it at the sight of the cleavers or
" beggar's lice," which have taken hold of
our clothes. The plant {Galium Afiarine)
has evidently resolved to hold its own, and its numerous
seeds have consequently been provided with hooked
hairs, which lay hold of any passing object, and so get
carried away to a spot where there will be a chance of
growing. How successful this plant often is because of
the liberal supply of seed which it provides may be best
seen in early spring, when, under every hedgerow, the
tiny seedlings will be found pushing forward as rapidly as
possible that they may become established before over-
grown with grass and weeds.
It is this liberality on the part of nature which makes
it possible for man to live. The world of nature has been
made to minister to the wants of man. Hence we find
the wheat and other cereals putting forth an abundant
supply of corn, the leguminous plants supplying us
with beans and peas, the fruit trees giving us
apples, plums, currants, oranges, and a thousand
other delicacies, so that even if the supply of animal
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 155
food were cut off we should still run little or no risk of
starvation.
An interesting illustration of the lavish way in which
• some flowers dispense their gifts is to be found in the
study of the organs of fertilization. What myriads of grains
must some plants produce by way of pollen ! This branch
of hazel catkins has yielded quite a tea-spoonful, so that
a fair sized bush will produce many ounces of golden dust.
Dr. Brown remarks that in order to insure fertilisation
there is, among other provisions, a larger number of an-
thers and stigmas, and a superfluous quantity of pollen in
many plants. One student (Morren) found that in a single
blossom of the great flowered Cactus (C. grandijlorus)
there are about 500 anthers, 24 stigmas, and 30, coo
ovules. Each anther may contain about 500 grains of
pollen, so that in a single flower there may be as many
as 250, 000 pollen grains. It has been calculated by Mr.
Stephen Wilson that wheat plants produce about fifty
pounds of pollen per acre. In all other grasses, as well
as in the Coniferous and Catkin-bearing trees, there is
much more pollen than is necessary to fertilise the ovules,
even supposing that each grain took effect. Fritz Muller
calculated the number of pollen grains in a single flower
of Maxillaria to be thirty-four millions. This is not at all
incredible to one who has examined the anthers of a
flower or two under the microscope. Not only are the
1 56 MIXISTR Y OF FLO WERS
grains in many instances inconceivably small, but they are
packed together with such care that thousands would lie
in a single case the sixteenth of an inch in length. Yet
each of these grains is so perfectly finished that the most
powerful lens tends rather to discover new beauties than
to lay open a flaw or defect. Nor are we less indebted
to the plants for the bounteous supply of fragrance and
colour which they produce. There is such a thing as false
economy. A good business man believes in making his
trade known, and to do so he liberally supplies his cus-
tomers with papers and bags bearing his name and address,
puts out advertisements, and in one way or another draws
the attention of the public towards himself. As a rule
the most liberal business man thrives the best. So is it
in the floral world. Those flowers which can command
the largest advertisements in the way of petals, and can
put the best and most attractive colours into their sign-
board, will be the most likely to have a great rush of visi-
tors. You may easily prove this in February or March by
standing near a border planted with Crocuses and Snow-
drops. Let the sun come out at noonday, flooding the
country with its genial rays, and soon you will hear
the busy bee humming and singing as it goes about its
work. The Snowdrop droops its snowy head, but the
Crocus opens its golden corolla, exposes its trifid pistil and
triple stamens — for in this family of plants all the organs
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 157
are arrayed in triplets — and bids the visitor enter. The
result is that soon every Crocus in the border will be
visited, and many of them will have received the atten-
tion of several guests. Thus we learn that it would be
false economy on the part of flowers seeking the services
of insects to have poor blossoms. But I shall be met with
an objection. You say that the Snowdrop and Crocus
alike are raised from root organs, bulbs or corms, as the
botanist would call them. If so, why should the crocus
have gaudy petals and sepals, while the snowdrop is con-
tent with such as are snowy white. Here we see the
necessity of a knowledge of the history of plants, and the
country to which they belong. You will remember that
most of our native flowers which blossom in early spring
have either white or yellow petals. This is the case with
the Shepherd's Purse, Chickweed, Whitlow-grass, Daisy,
Snowdrop, Rue-leaved Saxifrage and others, as well as
the Celandine, Dandelion and Daffodil. Consequently
the Snowdrop falls into the rank of those English flowers
which do not depend upon insects for their reproduction.
Independent folk can afford to do things in a quiet way,
but pushing business people must make a stir. If the
Snowdrop never saw a bee, butterfly, or moth it would
still live on just as before, for its roots take the place of
seeds. But the Crocus is not an English plant. Like
many other beautiful flowers, it has come to us from foreign
1 58 MINIS TR Y OF FIO WERS
shores, and its organs must naturally be studied in the
light of the climate to which it is originally adapted, and
the method which it there employs for securing its con-
tinued existence. I am not here concerned with the his
tory of plants, but may remark that the Saffron or Crocus
is found in the East, where it has been cultivated for ages.
The Greeks called it Krokos, and associated with it a pretty
legend, while the Arabs called it Zafran, whence our word
Saffron. Greece, Italy and Kashmir seem alike to have a
claim to the Crocus,* and the climate of those lands is
quite different from our own. When we remember that
the Crocus has odoriferous stigmata which yield the saffron
of commerce, we are led to ask if there must not be some
reason for this. Bees and insects appreciate a visit to the
plant because they are able to bring away a good quantity
of " bee-bread," and it would therefore appear that the
Crocus was supplied with a rich odour and abundance of
pollen, in order to be able to compete with the other
gaudy flowers of Eastern lands in their endeavours to se-
cure the services of the insect world. These details must
be borne in mind when we are dealing with cultivated or
imported flowers and plants, otherwise our conclusions
may be altogether erroneous. The Narcissus is another
case in point. The lovely varieties grown in China, Italy
* " Origin of Cultivated Plants," by M. A. De Candolle ; Kegan
Paul, Trench and Co , 1884.
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF L/FE. 159
and other countries are very highly perfumed, while their
flowers are frequently white and waxen. The nectary is
often delicately painted and so leads the insect direct to
the stores of honey. The term nectary is said to have
been invented by Linnaeus, and refers to those organs in
which the nectar or honey is secreted. Sometimes the
nectary is a part of the calyx or corolla, but in the Narcis-
sus it forms a kind of cup or crown. The odour of these
flowers is very strong and possesses in some instances
narcotic properties which were known to the Greeks and
ancients. It was one of the flowers which was regarded
with great favour for funereal purposes. While the exhal-
ations may be injurious in confined apartments the frag-
rance of some varieties is exceedingly grateful. All the
English plants belonging to this order (Amaryllidacece)
blossom about March, and have either white or yellow
flowers, but the representatives of the same Order which
we find in the floras of Australia and the Orient are usually
more elaborately coloured, and "got up " to attract atten-
tion.
It is in other lands, where the climate is better suited
for the growth of enormous flowers and plants, that we
find the best proofs of nature's liberality. In our
temperate regions, as they are called — though often
enough the expression is far from accurate — the biting-
winds and frosts of winter and early spring, the lack of
1 60 MINIS TR V OF FLO WERS
bright warm days, the attacks of blights, and the preva-
lence of fogs and storms, prevent the flowers rapidly
coming to perfection and making a gaudy show. But if
you could take a walk along the roads of Penang and
Singapore, visit the Islands of Ceylon or Hong-Kong, or
sail down the Straits of Malacca, you would be amazed
at the wealth, profusion, and luxuriance of the plant-world.
Imagine a single leaf of the Plantain of such dimensions
that, if it were suspended before you with its tip touching
the ground, it would not only screen your whole person
from view, but reach over your head and come down to
the ground behind you, so that if it were sewn up it
would form a sack large enough to hold a full grown
person ! Or picture to yourself that curious plant which
grows in the Malay Archipelago under the name of
Krubut {Rafflesid). It is well called by the natives the
Flower of Flowers, or the Wonder of Wonders (Ambun
Airibun), and merits the epithet of the Vegetable Titan
which others have given it. Dr. Arnold shall tell us the
story of his first sight of this flower, and the account is
the more interesting because it forms part of an unfinished
letter by that ardent explorer, who died just after making
the discovery he here records. " At Pulo Lebbar [Pulo
means Island in the Malay tongue], on the Manna River,
two days' journey inland of Manna, I rejoice to tell you
I happened to meet with what I consider the greatest
RESPECTING 7 HE VIRTUES OF LIFE, 161
prodigy of the vegetable world. I had ventured some
way before the party, when one of the Malay servants
came running to me, with wonder in his eyes, and said,
' Come with me, sir ; come and see a flower, very large,
beautiful, wonderful ! * I immediately went with the man
about a hundred yards into the jungle, and he pointed to
a flower growing close to the ground under the bushes
which was truly astonishing. My first impulse was to cut
it up and carry it to the hut. I therefore seized the
Malay's parang (a sort of instrument like a woodman's
chopping-hook), and finding that it sprang from a small
root which ran horizontally (about as large as two fingers,
or a little more), I soon detached it and removed it to
our hut. To tell you the truth,, had I been alone, and
had there been no witnesses, I should, I think, have been
fearful of mentioning the dimensions of this flower, so
much does it exceed every flower I have ever seen or
heard off; but I had Sir Stamford and Lady Raffles with
me, and a Mr. Palsgrave, a respectable man, resident at
Manna, who, though equally astonished with myself, yet
are able to testify as to the truth.
"The whole flower was of a very thick substance, the
petals and nectary being in but few places less than a
quarter of an inch thick, and in some places three
quarters of an inch ; the substance of it was very succu-
lent. When I first saw it, a swarm of flies were hovering
1 62 M1NISTR Y OF FLOWERS
over the mouth of the nectary, and apparently laying
their eggs in the substance of it ; it had precisely the
smell of tainted beef. Now for the dimensions, which
are the most astonishing part of the flower. It measured
a full yard across ; the petals, which were sub-rotund,
being 12 inches from the base to the apex, and it being a
foot from the insertion of the one petal to the opposite
one ; Sir Stamford, Lady Raffles, and myself taking im-
mediate measures to be accurate in this respect by pin-
ning four large sheets of paper together, and cutting them
the precise size of the flower. The nectarium, in the
opinion of us ah, would hold twelve pints, and the weight
of this prodigy we calculated to be fifteen pounds." We
are told that it takes three months from the first appear-
ance of the bud to the full expansion of the flower, and
the flower appears but once a year, namely, at the con-
clusion of the rainy season. The plant takes rank by
the side of the Fungi, some monstrosities of which
family have been found at various times in our own
land.
The leaves of such plants as the Victoria Regia, or
great Water Lily of South America, are perfect marvels,
and have created great surprise and excitement when
viewed for the first time ; but we should find it impossible
to dwell on all the facts associated with plants which
illustrate the unbounded liberality of nature, and as
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 163
some of the matters which we might have discussed
under this • heading will present themselves for ex-
amination in another place, we will now turn to another
subject.
1 64
MIA' IS TRY OF FLOWERS
HUMILITY.
WE come from the study of the larger
plants to that of humbler, yet not less
lovely, forms. Here we meet with the
^Moss, that tiny ornament of wall and
bank which is so often overlooked, but
which may be made the minister of com-
fort to those who will read its lessons.
Who has not heard of Mungo Park, the
African traveller? For him the Moss
had its message when lonely and sad he
lay down in the wilds of the Dark Continent.
44 One tiny tuft of Moss alone,
Mantling with freshest green a stone,
Fixed his delighted gaze ;
Through bursting tears of joy he smiled,
And while he raised the tendril wild
His lips o'erflowed with praise."
Some of the Mosses are of such miniature growth that
the naked eye, unless trained by long and patient search,
can scarcely detect their presence, yet withal they are
most elegant and curious plants. Hasselquist observed
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 165
one of these small varieties (Gymnostoma truncatulatum,
according to one author) "growing in vast abundance
upon the walls of Jerusalem, and hazards a conjecture
that it may be the Hyssop of Solomon. That our present
Hyssopus is not the plant alluded to by Solomon there
can be but little doubt. If Hasselquist's surmise should
be correct, this minute ' Hyssop springing out of the
wall ' would contrast finely with i the Cedar that groweth
on Lebanon ; ' and thus, by referring to the extremes of
the vegetable world, the phrase, by a beautiful Orientalism,
would comprehend the whole of which the chronicler
says that the wise man spake." The Moss would thus be
the Alpha, the Cedar the Omega, of Solomon's natural
history pursuits. Tristram and others, however, think the
graceful Caper-plant (Capparis spinosd) is intended.
What purpose do the Mosses serve? some will ask.
The answer is easily found if we go out for a country
ramble, and notice where the lowly plants exist and thrive.
By their presence on rocks and mountains they serve to
retain and collect the moisture which comes within their
reach, and so prevent the exposed surface of these parts
from becoming altogether barren and sterile. Their
rootlets penetrate the rock and break up its surface into
a thousand parts, while their own decaying form serves to
make a fertile soil for larger growths. Here, eventually,
the Fern throws out its fronds ; then the seeds of Fir and
1 66 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
Oak fall into the rich bed and germinate, finding susten-
ance enough in the thin stratum of soil to enable them to
throw out roots which gradually penetrate the rocky sub-
stratum, and thus secure a firm hold for the future tree.
"The uses of Mosses are great in the general economy
of Nature. Well, have they been called, by Linnaeus, her
ministers ; filling up, as they do, and consolidating bogs,
clothing mountains, even to the verge of perpetual snow,
and condensing the moisture of the atmosphere ; thus
giving origin to rills, and being the living fountains of
many streams." Dr. Cooke speaks, in his interesting
little book on " The Woodlands," of the impossibility of
giving, in a few pages, " any satisfactory idea of the
variety of form, the diversity of character, and yet, withal,
the harmony of design which prevail in these small and
humble plants. They are without odour to attract,
without gaudy flowers to allure, or luscious fruits to
entice, not only the pleasure seeking butterfly and the
honey-sucking bee, but even the human lounger in the
woods. They appeal not to any power of gratifying the
taste or the smell as an apology for existence, but
humbly, and without ostentation, perform the task
allotted to them in the world. Thus silently, in their
myriad forms, scattered from pole to pole — from the
burning tropics nearly to the limits of perpetual snow —
preachers are they to those whose ears are attuned to
A. FRUTICOSE LICHEN. B, FOLIACEOUS LICHEN.
[face p. 166.
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 167
their accents, of the wondrous power, the infinite wisdom
of the great Father of all." I have just returned from a
long ramble in Sherwood Forest, where I have been
studying the forms and localities of the different species to
be met with in such profusion there. Some grow on the
open, heathery moor, others on the trees, others again on
the palings and fallen timber. Here is a large patch of
the thyme-leaved variety, which came from a damp place
under the trees, and this, with a double set of teeth
(called Diploperistomi), was culled from the face of a
rock. Some of the flowers, to speak in a popular way, are
innocent of teeth around the margin of the open capsule.
By observing this you may know that the variety so
marked belongs to the Gymnostomi, or naked-mouthed
group, as Hooker designates them. Others have a single
row of teeth for the peristomi {Haplo-peristomi}, while
a yet more lovely form has two rows of teeth {Diplo-'peris-
tomi), and looks perfectly charming under a powerful lens.
When, therefore, you begin to collect Mosses, first look
for the flowers, or fruits, as the organs are more generally
called ; and having found a ripe one, examine the edge
of the capsule or theca, as the little urn is called, at the
end of the stem. See whether it possess a double or
single fringe, or whether it is entirely destitute of that
ornament, and you have learned your first lesson in
bryology. Next observe whether the fruit stalks are
1 68 MINISTR Y OF FLOWERS
growing from the sides of the plant, or whether they rise
perpendicularly, like a Primrose from the middle of the
tuft. Some Mosses, as you have already observed, are
branched ; but others grow separately like little Pine trees
in a closely packed plantation, and these peculiarities will
assist you in your classification. Then you may take
note of the hood which is drawn over the urn. This
pretty covering (termed a Calyptra) is sometimes very
hairy, and when examined under the microscope these
hairs frequently appear to be jointed something like an
insect's leg. At other times it is smooth and semi-trans-
parent. One variety is known by the calyptra slipping
off entire, while in another it slits from top to bottom,
and in another divides into equal portions. You will
also be able to distinguish another family {Jungermannid)
by the way in which the capsule or urn splits into four,
and thus sets free its numerous spores. The spores of
these plants are full of interest, so too are the less con-
spicuous organs which grow on separate plants and serve
to keep up the growth and reproduction of the race.
But as we are not here pursuing the study of practical
botany, this must suffice by way of introduction to these
modest plants. Mr. Step remarks that these plants
should be encouraged on the fernery, " not only for the
sake of their own beauty, which is great, but as helping
to prevent the excessive evaporation of moisture from
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 169
the soil, and conducting the moisture from the atmo-
sphere. They form a suitable nidus for fern spores to fall
upon, affording them the requisite conditions to induce
germination. They also serve to prepare hard soils for
more deeply-rooting plants, and for this reason are
among the most valuable of Nature's pioneers, covering
the hard rocks with a soft coating of delicate green.
Their tiny rootlets break up the surface of the rock, and
their dead bodies gradually form a thick stratum of
vegetable mould, still covered by the younger living
individuals. Here the wind-borne seeds of the giant
pines and firs find a resting-place, and germinating send
their long roots down into the fissures of the rocks for
support, and absorb their nourishment from the moss-
made mould. And in this way Nature covers up the
bare rocks with the most beautiful of mantles, that of
living greenery; and always the Mosses and Liverwort
and Lichens are the humble plants which prepare a soil
for the larger growths of Oak and Pine " (" Plant Life,"
P. i43>
Next to the mosses for humility of growth, we may
note the Lichens, which we can find, all the year round,
in almost any spot where the atmosphere is sufficiently
pure to allow them to grow. They cover the trunks of
trees, abound on palings and wood, walls, roofs of houses,
rocks, dry banks, and in almost every conceivable place.
170
MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
Who has not, again and again, admired the pretty " cup-
moss ?" Now, the "cups" which made this plant so
conspicuous, although it is so small, contain large num-
bers of little bodies like balls of dust. So, if you examine
other lichens when in fruit, you will find a similar organ
or cup, in which the spores are contained, that take the
place of seeds in the higher plants. Some of these
lichens, when perfect and full-grown, are so tiny that if
hundreds of them were not growing together, you would
not be able to detect them ; and, even when they exist in
considerable patches, you need a lens to enable you to
distinguish the various parts, and help you to discover
the cup, or apothecium. The peculiar green, rusty, grey,
or yellow colour which the bark of trees often assumes ?
especially in woodland districts, is due to the presence of
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE, 171
minute lichens ; and those patches of gold leaf, which
you have so often admired on old walls, stones, and
fences, are made up of a most lovely species (Physcia
parielind). In many instances, they cannot be severed
from their host, and when the collector needs specimens
for his herbarium, he has need of a strong knife for wood-
loving species, and a hammer and chisel for such as grow
on stones and rocks. They often lie so close to the bark
of a tree that only a practised eye would ever suspect
their presence ; at other times, they grow into somewhat
conspicuous and lovely plants. The position in which
they grow is such that, during dry weather, their growth
is often entirely suspended ; whence it arises that years
are, in some instances, required for bringing them to per-
fection. Some varieties are well known by all young
ramblers, from their mossy appearance, as they grow on
old hawthorn bushes, as well as on the oak, fir, black-
thorn, birch, and ash. They have acquired the name of
Tree-moss, Tree -beard, and even Jupiter's-beard, and are
usually found in fir plantations, where the ground is moor-
like, and in woods, where the tree-growth is too thick or
decaying. Poets have not disdained to observe this fact,
but, as poets are not always naturalists, they sometimes
fall into error. When Gray speaks of the " rude and
moss-grown beech," he shows his ignorance of this branch
of natural history, for, as Johnson says, " no tree is so
1 72 MINIS TR Y OF FLO V/ERS
little, or so seldom either rude or moss-grown," the Elm,
Lime, and Sycamore being in this respect its associates.
The lichens, humble plants as they are, have neverthe-
less their uses. Some of the higher orders have been
found edible, and, while the reindeer lives largely on one
variety — known as the Reindeer Moss (Claydonia rangi-
Jertna) — man has employed another kind, called Iceland
Moss (Cetraria zslandua), for food. Some species have
been used medicinally, and there is a variety (Everina
prunastri) very common in Great Britain, which used to
be much in request as an ingredient in sweet-pots and
perfumed cushions, on account of its peculiar power of
imbibing and retaining odours. Evelyn says that this
moss of the Oak " composes the choicest cypress powder,
which is esteemed good for the head ; but impostors
familiarly vend other mosses under that name, as they do
the fungi for the true agaric, to the great scandal of
physic." In these days, we generally regard such things
as out of date, and, as the sponge has taken the place of
most other absorbants, so new remedies have taken the
place of the old medicines. One or two varieties are said
to be poisonous ; others have been found to yield a valu-
able dye ; and in Scotland the peasantry of former times
would frequently earn considerable sums of money by
collecting dye-producing lichens from their moors and
rocks. Thus, even these humble plants have their place
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE, 173
in creation, and are appointed their work. " In the
arctic regions, and especially in Lapland, the reindeer
moss grows in the utmost profusion, and overspreads, as
with a coverlet of snow, plains hundreds of miles in ex-
tent. These, which to a stranger or a traveller arrived
from — what prejudice would call — a happier land, might
seem dry and barren wastes, are the very fertile fields of
the Laplanders ; for when the cold of winter has withered
up every sort of herbage, and its storms have driven man
and beast to the valleys and the woods, this lichen or
moss becomes the principal aliment of the herds of rein-
deer, in which consists all the wealth, and on which de-
pends the very existence, of the natives. Thus, things
which are often deemed the most insignificant and con-
temptible by ignorant men, are, by the good providence
of God, made the means of the greatest blessings to His
creatures" ("Outlines of Botany," p. 156). Another
service is performed by certain species of lichens. If you
observe the dead branches of certain trees lying in a
copse or forest, you will probably find that they are being
broken up, and formed into tinder by means of various
agencies. Sometimes insects are at work, fungi have
attacked the ruin, or mosses have made it their a-bode ;
but at other times, curious forms of the ubiquitous lichen
will be found located between the bark and the wood,
loosening the former till it falls off spontaneously, or
174
MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
A Graphis elegans on bark of holly, natural size. B Slightly magnified.
C Pertusaria Wulfein also slightly magnified.
yields to the slightest force, and so leaves the bare wood
to be quickly decomposed by animal, fungoid, or atmo-
spheric forces. How wonderful, then, are the arrange-
ments made for the equilibrium of the natural world, and
how admirably do even the humblest, most despised, and
least known of nature's servants do their work ! Here
they add beauty to the scene, there they quietly and un-
obtrusively work away at their task of producing new
mould for trees and plants, and setting free latent and
confined gases for the future use of other creatures. This
variety is useful as a thatch to keep out the damp from
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LITE. 175
the tree it protects ; while that prevents, during the sum-
mer drought, too great an evaporation of the sap and
juices. Here a species supplies the animal world with
food ; there another is useful for destroying evil properties
or producing a valuable pigment. There are, doubtless,
many other uses to which nature appropriates these her
servants, which as yet we fail to understand ; but this is
certain — they all have their work and place, and may
teach us that, insignificant as we are in our own eyes and
in the eyes of others, God has given us our place in the
world for a definite purpose. The title of Bond-slaves,
which Linnaeus applied to some of the lower plants, is
particularly appropriate when applied to the licnens.
They are, as it were, " chained to the soil they labour to
improve for the benefit of others, though from it they
derive no nourishment themselves. The first conquests
of life over death, the first inroads of fertility on barren-
ness, are made by the smaller lichens, which, as Humbolt
has well observed, labour to decompose the scarified
matter of volcanoes, and the smooth and naked surfaces
of the sea-deserted rocks. These little plants will often
obtain a footing where nothing else could be attached.
So small are many that they are invisible to the naked
eye, and the decay of these, when they have flourished
and passed through their transient epochs of existence,
is destined to form the first exuvial layer of vegetable
1 76 MINIS •TR Y OF FLO WERS
mould ; succeeding generations give successive incre-
ments to the soil, from which, when formed, men are to
reap their harvests, and cattle to derive their food ; from
which hereafter forests are designed to spring, and from
which future navies are to be supplied. But how is this
frail dust to maintain its station on the smooth and
polished rock, when vitality has ceased to exert its influ-
ence, and the structure that fixed it has decayed ? This
is a point which has been too generally overlooked, and
yet which is the most wonderful provision of all. The
plant, when dying, digs for itself a grave — sculptures in
the solid rock a sepulchre in which its dust may rest.
For chemistry informs us that, not only do these lichens
consist in part of gummy matter — which causes their
particles to stick together — but that they likewise form,
when living, a considerable quantity of oxalic acid ; which
acid, when set free by the decay of the plants, acts upon
the rocks, and thus is a hollow formed in which the dead
matter of the lichen is deposited. Furthermore, the
acid, by combining with the limestone or other material
of the rock, will often add an important mineral ingre-
dient to the vegetable mould; and not only this : the
moisture thus conveyed into the cracks and crevices of
rocks and stones, when frozen, rends them, and, by con-
tinual degradation, adds more and more to the forming
soil. Successive generations of these bond-slaves succes-
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LITE. 177
sively and indefatigably perform their duties, until at
length, as the result of their accumulated toil, the barren
breakers, or the pumice plains of a volcano, become con-
verted into fruitful fields " ("'Outlines of Botany," p. 39).
Surely, then, none of us need be discouraged or despair.
Crabbe has remarked that —
" Seeds, to our eyes invisible, will find
On the rude rock the bed that fits their kind ;
There in the rugged soil they safely dwell
Till showers and snows the subtle atoms swell,
And spread the enduring foliage ; then we trace
The freckled flower upon the flinty base.
There all increase, till in unnoted years
The stony tower, as grey with age, appears
With coats of vegetation, thinly spread
Coat above coat — the living on the dead.
These then dissolve to dust, and make away
For bolder foliage, nursed by their decay.
The long-enduring ferns in time will all
Die and depose their dust upon the wall,
Where the winged seed may rest, till many a flower
Shows Flora's triumph o'er the falling tower."
We leave the gentle reader to search the works of Ruskin
and others, for those beautiful words in which the lessons
taught by these humble plants are eloquently set forth,
and would invite all who read these pages to look, during
their next walk, for some of the charming objects which,
in humble form, are doing such great and noble service.
1 7S MINIS! R Y OF FLO WFRS
55>-~> THERE is no
flower can teach
jM'j)/:$-i\ tne weary, troubled spirit more sweetly than
}A\ (q& that of
\j RESTFULNESS.
T ; There is scarcely a person who does not at
times feel chafed and sore, and the general tendency of
misfortune and want of success is to make us anxious,
uneasy, and fretful. When things are not so bright with
us in the business as they once were, when affliction lays
aside this or that member of the family, when the income
is reduced or the expenses become heavier, what more
natural than that we should begin to take thought for the
morrow. We have already seen that economy and provi-
dence are taught us by the plants ; yet the Saviour him-
self tells us that undue anxiety is not only useless, but
injurious and dishonouring to God. His words have
been already quoted, but they are so full of comfort that
we may give them yet again : " Consider the lilies of the
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES 01 LIRE. 179
field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his
glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if
God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and
to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew vi. 28-30:
Luke xii. 27-28). Rabbi Simeon said on one occasion,
" Hast thou all thy life-long seen a beast or a bird which
has a trade ? Still they are nourished, and that without
anxious care. And if they, who are created only to serve
me, shall not I expect to be nourished without anxious
care, who am created to serve my Maker ? Only that if
I have been evil in my deeds, I forfeit my support."
There is one thing about the simple flowers of our fields
and hedgerows which always charms us, viz., their bright
and cheerful, yet unobtrusive adorning. The child just
out of school delights to pluck them as she wanders
homeward, and make them into a wreath for her brother's
neck. The mother rejoices to receive them from the tiny
hand of the little one who has been scouring the bank
and mead, and exalts them to a place of honour in th
daintiest vase on side-board or mantel-piece. The sick
one gazes on them with delight as they stand by the bed-
side in their purity, or scent the room with their fragrance.
Everywhere flowers are prized. In England we gather
the Primrose, Violet, or Daisy, and carry it home with
1S0 MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
joy; in China, the Flowery Land, the Jasmine, Rose, Lily,
or Chrysanthemum will be seen carried through the
streets of the cities and towns, to be sold to the poorest
as well as to the most wealthy of the people, to be placed
in their hair as an ornament, or on the table for the sake
of their sweet perfume. There, as here, the plants are
kept in pots and tenderly nurtured, -for a charm seems to
linger about the very name of a flower. Look at the
flower of the field. You pluck the tiny Daisy whose
pink-tipped blossoms bespangle the meadow in spring,
but you do not need to paint it in order to make it
bright and pretty enough for your nicely arranged table.
It does not look shabby by the side of your costliest and
choicest paintings and china, but its sweetly shaded tints
tend to brighten the dullness of its surroundings. A
nosegay seems to put new life and beauty into the
dwelling-room.
You pluck a leaf, or gather a blade of grass, and its
tints put the painter's skill to the blush, so well and
highly finished are they in point of colour, as well as in
shape and contour. The flower which we tread under
our feet surpasses in beauty of dress and ornament the
decorations of kings. " Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these." The glory of Solomon was
of a surpassing kind. It had become proverbial. Even
in his own days the Queen of Sheba had heard of him
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. l8l
and came to see if it were true, but she found that the
half had not been told her ; and when in later years men
wished to set forth the glory of a thing they compared it
with that of Solomon. As with Dives so with this great
king, he was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared
sumptuously every clay. The dress of a man in the East
is regarded as a very important thing, and in all ages and
countries, position, rank, influence, wealth, have been in-
dicated by means of dress. When the people mocked
the Saviour they put on him a purple robe (the dress of
royalty) and said, "Hail, King of the Jews." We are
told that the " privileged Greeks may put on robes of
any dye except green." In the East, the people love gay
colours, and use red, blue, green, orange, and other dyes;
but the Imperial yellow is the privileged colour of the
Emperor of China. Though Solomon added to the
glory of his dress that of his associations and surround-
ings, had lovely palaces, and attendant ministers, and all
the paraphernalia of an Oriental monarch, yet the Great
Teacher says he was surpassed by the Lily of the field.
In the East, the Lily is a favourite flower, and its kinds
are very various. There is first of all the Lotus, con-
sidered sacred by the Hindus, and especially by the
Buddhists. It is thought by some writers that this is the
flower whose fruit was so esteemed by the Ancients, that
to be able always to eat it was worth leaving one's
1 82 . MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
country for ever. But confusion has arisen in the minds
, of many writers through the term being applied to differ-
ent kinds of plants. We have an English Lotus, but it
is a member of the clover family and not a Lily at all.
The true Lotus is a Water Lily, occupying a middle posi-
tion, for size, between the Victoria Regia on the one
hand, and our own water Lily on the other. Passing
through Singapore on my way home to England some
years ago, I saw the ponds in the Botanic Gardens gorge-
ous with the pink and white blossoms of the Lily. In
China I have seen, both within the precincts of Buddhist
Temples and in the gardens of the gentry or the agricul-
turist, large pots set apart for their cultivation ; and so
much are they prized, that people who have not an inch
of garden will fill large jars with dirt and water and grow
the Lotus by their door. When in bloom, they present to
the eye one of the most pleasing and picturesque of scenes.
The flowers are plucked and placed in front of the altars in
the temples, as offerings well pleasing to the gods. In
Japan and India, as well as in China, the Lotus is re-
garded as sacred, or let us rather say, as specially pleasing
to their deities. Dr. Gray, who resided in Canton during
my own stay in that city, aptly says in his valuable work
on China : " There are very extensive Water Lily or
Lotus ponds in the vicinity of the cities and villages of
the southern provinces. In the western district of
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 183
Canton, such ponds are also numerous. The Water Lily,
which I apprehend is the Shushan of the Scriptures, is
regarded by the Chinese as a sacred plant. It flourishes
during the months of July and August ; and when, in
consequence of the latter rain and high tides, the Canton
river during these months overflows the adjacent lands,
its large tulip-like flowers — some of a bright red, others of
a milk-white colour, and not a few combining the red and
the white — may be seen raised, as if in triumph, above
the surface of the swollen waters. With these flowers the
Chinese decorate their houses. The leaves of the plant
are also used by shopkeepers — grocers especially — instead
of paper, to wrap their customers' purchases in. The seeds
of the Lotus, which are almost as large as Filberts, are
boiled and eaten. From the beds of the ponds the
Chinese also gather the roots of the plant, which is ot
an elongated form (a rhizome), and in colour like a turnip.
When opened, the root, which consists of a variety of
cells, has somewhat the appearance of a honeycomb.
The Lotus of China is, I apprehend, of the same species
as that of Egypt, of which Herodotus wrote (ii. 92) that
'so soon as the waters have reached their culminating
point, there is to be seen above the surface a large
quantity of the Lily species, which, by the Egyptians, are
termed the Lotus.' It would appear that the Egyptians
were in the habit of eating the seeds of this plant, which
1 84 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
they boiled and made into a paste, and then baked as
bread." The goddess Kwan Yin is represented by the
Buddhists as seated 011 a Lotus, while one of the sacred
invocations of this sect — " Om mani padme hum ! " —
means " Hail, Jewel in the Lotus ! " This is repeated
108 times by the priests m their prayers in order to
propitiate tneir great deity. But it would require a
volume to give all the lore attaching to this plant, and
as it evidently was not a Water Lily to which the Saviour
referred we may pass on. Christ speaks of the " Lilies
of the field," and then says "if God so clothes the grass"
&c. Alford remarks that " these Lilies have been sup-
posed to be the Crown Imperial {Fritillaria imperialism
German, Kaiserkrone), which grows wild in Palestine,
or the Yellow Lily {Amaryllis lulea), whose golden
liliaceous flowers cover the autumnal fields of the
Levant." The Greek word (xpmv) which is translated
" Lily," was probably applied originally to a white flower,
which, on account of its innocence and beauty, was called
" The Flower " (*^»') par excellence, and represented
dignity in the ancient language of flowers. In the
Hebrew it was called Shusan, a name which is generally
derived from the word Shesh (" six "), because of the
hexaplous perianth it possessed. The flower is spoken
of in the Song of Solomon (ii. 1), "I am the Rose of
Sharon, and the Lily of the Valleys. As a lily among
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 185
thorns, so is my love among the daughters." In verse
16 also we read, " My beloved is mine and I am his ; he
feedeth among the lilies. " A prophecy relating to Israel
says, " He shall grow [margin, \ blossom, 7 ] as the lily, and
strike forth his roots like Lebanon" (Hosea, xiv. 5), on
which Henderson remarks that " Lilies abound in Pales-
tine, even apart from cultivation. There are two kinds :
the common Lily, which is perfectly white, consisting of
six leaves (petals), opening like bells ; and what the
Syrians call Shushan Malcha, or the Royal Lily, the stem
of which is about the size of a finger in thickness, and
which grows to the height of three and four feet, spread-
ing its flowers in the most beautiful and engaging
manner." My friend, the Rev. W. Houghton^ thus
writes respecting the Lily of the Bible : " The Hebrew
word is rendered 'Rose' in the Chaldee Targum, and by
Maimonides and other Rabbinical writers, with the excep-
tion of Kimchi and Ben Melech, who translated it by
Violet (1 Kings vii. 19). But Krinon (*^v) r "Lily,"
is the uniform rendering of the Hebrew Shushan or
Shoshannah in the Septuagint, and is in all probability
the true one ; as it is supported by the analogy of
the Arabic and Persian Susan, which has the same
meaning to this day, and by the existence of the
same word in Syria and Coptic. But although there
is little doubt that the word denotes some plant of the
1 86 MINIS TR Y OF FL O WERS
Lily species, it is by no means certain what individual of
this class it specially designates. Father Souciet laboured
to prove that the Lily of Scripture is the Crown Imperial.
But there is no proof that it was at any time common in
Palestine. Dioscondes bears witness to the beauty of
the Lilies of Syria and Pisidia, from which the best
perfume was made. If the Shushan of the Old Testa-
ment and the Krinon of the Sermon on the Mount be
identical, which there seems no reason to doubt, the
plant designated by these terms must have been a con-
spicuous object on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret ;
it must have flourished in the deep, broad valleys of
Palestine, among the thorny shrubs and pastures of the
desert, and must have been remarkable for its rapid and
luxuriant growth. That its flowers were brilliant in
colour would seem to be indicated in Mathew vi. 28,
where it is compared with the gorgeous robes of Solomon ;
and that this colour was scarlet or purple is implied in
the Song of Solomon (v. 13). There appears to be no
species of Lily which so completely answers all these re-
quirements as the Scarlet Martagofi (Lilium Chalcedoni-
cimi) which grows in profusion in the Levant. But
direct evidence on the point is still to be desired
from the observation of travellers. Other plants
have been identified with the Shushan. Gesenius
derives the word from a root signifying "to be white/'
RESPECTING 7 HE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 187
and it has been inferred that the Shushan is the White
Lily. Dr. Royle identified the Lily of the Canticles
with the Lotus of Egypt, in spite of the many allusions
to " feeding among the lilies.'' The purple flowers
of the Khob) or wild Artichoke, which abounds in the
plains north of Tabor and .in the valley of Esdraelon,
have been thought by some to be the " Lilies of the
field." A recent traveller mentions a plant with lilac
flowers like the Hyacinth, and called by the Arabs
usweih, which he considers to be the species denominated
Lily in Scripture. In his excellent work entitled " Sinai
and Palestine," the lamented Dean Stanley says: "In the
spring the hills and valleys are covered with thin grass and
the aromatic shrubs, which clothe more or less almost the
whole of Syria and Arabia. But they also glow with
what is peculiar to Palestine, a profusion of wild flowers,
Daisies, the white flower called the Star of Bethlehem ;
but especially with a blaze of scarlet flowers of all kinds,
chiefly Anemones^ Wild Tulips and Poppies. Of all the
ordinary aspects of the country, this blaze of scarlet
colour is perhaps the most peculiar ; and, to those who
first enter the Holy Land, it is no wonder that it has
suggested the touching and significant name of c The
Saviour's Blood-drops.' It is this contrast between the
brilliant colours of the flowers and the sober hue of the
rest of the landscape, that gives force to the words —
1 88 MINIS TR Y OF FL O WERS
1 Consider the lilies of the field. . . For I say unto
you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these.' Whatever was the special flower desig-
nated by the Lily of the field, the rest of the passage
indicates that it was of the gorgeous hues which might be
compared to the robes of the great king. The same
remark applies, though in a less degree, to the frequent
mention of the same flower in Canticles. . . . The
only Lilies which I saw in Palestine in the months of
March and April, w T ere large yellow Water Lilies, in the
clear spring of 'Ain-el-Mellahah, near the Lake of
Merom. But if, as is probable, the name may include
the numerous flowers of the Tulip or Amaryllis kind,
which appear in the early summer or the autumn of
Palestine, the expression becomes more natural — the red
and golden hue more fitly suggesting the comparison
with the proverbial gorgeousness of the robes of Solomon."
For rich illustrations of the flora of Palestine. I must
refer the reader to Mrs. Zeller's superb volume of " Wild
Flowers of the Holy Land," while Tristram and others
must be consulted for such fuller information on the sub-
ject as he may wish to obtain.
Whatever be the special meaning of the word Lily,
whether it refers to Lotus or Martagon, Anemone or Tulip,
or whether it is to be taken, in its widest sense, as re-
ferring to flowers in general, the inference to be drawn
RESPECTING THE VIRTUES OF LIFE. 189
Irom the words of Christ is the same. Consider the
Lilies, the prettiest and choicest of flowers, or the simplest
and most humble which adorn the field : the dress with
which the Heavenly Creator has clothed them is far
grander and more glorious than the dress of man, even
the robes of your richest and greatest monarch. Be not
therefore uneasy, for He who clothes the Lily will clothe
His people too. Reflect how, though they spring from
the mire and dust, the blossoms of the Lily are still pure
and beautiful. Some are of the purest white, as though
they had been bleached — types of innocence and purity ;
others are prettily tinted with pink and red, yet they have
not called in the painter to bedeck them, or asked for the
services of the fuller to whiten them. Look at the
texture of the leaves, and examine the cells of the petals,
the woof and warp, so to speak, of the delicate dress.
Yet they did not spin. The joints and curves are perfect
and regular, yet they did not toil in order to reach this
perfection. Examine them as you will, under the most
powerful lens, and the more you study the more will you
admire the perfection of form and outline, and the finish
of every part. Now, since the flowers are creatures of a
day, it is reasonable to think that the care which they re-
ceive is proportionate to their value and importance. We
are of greater value than many lilies, and may, therefore
— if we seek Divine assistance, and place ourselves in
1 90 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS.
Almighty hands — expect that the same care will be
bestowed on us, in proportion to our value in God's sight,
as is bestowed on them. Thus the flowers teach us the
lesson of restfulness.
I had intended, in this book, to dwell on some other
topics of interest, but am constrained to act on the advice
of Dryden, who tells a man not to write all he can, but
all he ought. I could have written on the virtue of
purity, and this would have been a most congenial sub-
ject ; but the suggestion of the topic may perhaps suffice
to lead the reader to think of it for himself. Perseverance
is another virtue for which many of the flowers are noted,
and this lesson we might ponder with profit. But there
are other lines of thought to be followed, and I shall now
pass on to consider some traits and features of life, which
can neither be regarded, in the strictest sense, either as
virtues or vices, yet which go a long way towards making
variety and averting monotony, causing joy or producing
sorrow, scattering happiness or bringing about misery,
wherever they exist. What there is in these things of
good let us imitate, what is mean and ignoble let us
avoid : so shall our own life be pure and blessed, and
that of others made happier and better.
BOOK IV.
S$e jUinistx^ of Jiotoers
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE,
" The love of Nature, and the scenes she draws,
Is Nature's dictate."
Cowper,
BOOK IV.
anotts ^features* of ^ife.
^ NATURE seems to mingle jest with
C% earnest. Sometimes we see her in sombre
hues, and we are made sad ; at other times
she is so joyous and gay that we are im-
mediately cheered by a sight of her face ;
but there are seasons when we cannot tell
exactly what she means, and we have to
ask whether she is only playing tricks with
us, or if she is in sober earnest. Some of
these peculiarities it will now be our duty
to mention, and we shall endeavour to ascertain to what
extent it may be worth our while to copy the example, or
avoid the influence, of these sagacious plants.
PLANT MIMICRY
Is a subject fraught with interest, but as yet it has not
been investigated with sufficient thoroughness to enable
N
194 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
us to say, in every instance of supposed mimicry, which
is the original, and which the imitator, what end is
answered by the feigned appearance of similarity, and to
what extent the art has been evolved in the history of the
plant. These are questions which will yet demand the
careful research of naturalists, and their study will bring
its own reward to those who indulge in it. In Africa
there is a species of tall red antelope, which so exactly
resembles the hills thrown up by ants, that the sportsman
finds himself frequently deceived by the similarity. The
antelopes, " being a deep red-brown in colour, and stand-
ing one by one stock-still at the approach of the caravan,
they deceived even the sharp eyes of my men (says Mr.
Johnston), and again and again a hart-beest would start
up at twenty yards' distance and gallop off, while I was
patiently stalking an ant-hill, and crawling on my stomach
through thorns and aloes, only to find the supposed
antelope an irregular mass of red clay." So, too, we
find caterpillars exactly resembling sticks on leaves, and
butterflies simulating the tints of the foliage on which
they settle, while a variety of similar curious facts are
constantly thrusting themselves problematically upon the
notice of the observer of nature. It is with plants and
flowers, however, that we are here concerned.
Let us begin with the Orchids, a most curious and in-
teresting group of plants, of which the Lady's Slipper
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE 195
is an English representative. In this case there is
little, if any, marked resemblance to insects or other
creatures ; but in many varieties, both native and
foreign, we can at once see in the flowers the shapes
and markings of bees, butterflies, and other things.
I have specimens from Tasmania and New South
Wales, which, when growing, are so exactly like
butterflies or moths settling with outspread wings on
a strand of grass or a leaf, that my friends assure me
they have sometimes gone cautiously up to the flower and
swooped it off as they would do an insect, not knowing
until they looked at the capture but that they had secured
a bright-winged insect ! Referring to facts like these,
one writer asks : " What is a plant ? What do we mean
by the word vegetable? It is a term the meaning of
which the most ignorant presume they understand, al-
though the most learned are unable exactly to define it ;
for a plant is, indeed, as Theophrastus long ago observed,
'a various thing, of which it is difficult to give a defini-
tion.' Tell a clown it is difficult to distinguish an animal
from a plant ; he will smile incredulously, and perhaps
will say : ' Can I mistake Man-Orchis flowers for men ? '
but show him a Conferva and Polype, a Lichen and a
Coralline, a Flustra and a Flag, or even a Mushroom and
a Medusa, and he will at once confess, at least by silence
if not by words, that he ' kens not which they be ' "
1 96 MIN1STR Y OF FLO WERS
(" Outlines of Botany," p. 15). Before returning to the
Orchids, I will supply one other illustration of this sub-
ject which came yesterday under my notice. I had been
out searching for Mosses, and had succeeded in dis-
covering some very tiny varieties with bright red capsules
modestly seated on delicate green fronds. Presently I
came to an old wall on which I was certain some three
or four varieties of Moss would be found, and surely
enough there they were, with their fruit in most instances
rising on stalks an inch- or more in length. But there
are cases in which the fruit is sessile, or has little if any
seta. While I was looking for specimens of the varieties
which were ready for the herbarium, what was my delight
to see what I took to be a new species of Moss with
which I had never met before. It was procumbent and
branched, while here and there, prettily dotting the
fronds, were little orange spots, evidently (I thought) the
sessile fruit. So charmed was I with the colour of these
spots, that for a few seconds I was lost in admiration,
then took out a strong pocket lens to see whether the
peristome was composed of a single or double row of
teeth. On bringing one of the spots into focus, I found
it appeared to be moving, so taking up a position which
was more suitable for careful examination, I studied the
spots with my strongest glass. Now, instead of tiny
thecal belonging to the Moss, I found that the bright
ORCHID.
[face p. 196.
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE, 197
specks were spiders of most delicate form, almost exactly
like the little red Water-Mite {Eyla'is), and presenting
under the microscope the most finished and beautiful
form. I will not call this a case of mimicry, but it
ranks well with many of the curious facts which careful
observers are daily discovering in the animal and floral
world.
In our own flora we have various representatives of
the Orchid family, and in some instances the resemblance
of the flower to certain members of the animal world is
not a little striking. We have the Bee, Fly, Butterfly,
Spider, Frog, Monkey-Orchis, with others, and the foreign
list greatly increases the number. While we, for example,
have a Lizard Orchid, the flora of Venezuela can claim
a Zebra Orchis {Oncidium Zebrinum) : so called because
its white petals bear violet transverse bars which look
much like the stripes on that pretty animal which every
visitor to the Zoological Gardens has seen. Elsewhere
there grows a flower which has been called the Snipe
Orchis, and these are but a few out of the many plants
which belong to this large and interesting family of
mimics. In some instances it is altogether impossible
for us, with our present knowledge of the subject, to say
what end can be answered by the adoption of these
curious forms on the part of flowers. One can imagine,
for example, that the butterfly-shaped Orchids of Australia
1 98 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
would attract insects toward themselves, and so secure
the aid of their lepidopterous visitors in the work of
fertilization ; but then the same does not always hold
good. Take, for example, our Bee Orchis (Ophrys
apt/era), which certainly looks very like the insect whose
name it bears. In this case " there is what might be
thought a case of protective resemblance, the flower being
so fashioned as to attract bees to assist in its fertilization.
But, on the contrary, the Bee-Orchid is one of the few
plants of its order that appears to be perpetually self-
fertilized, never being visited by insects." On this great
question no English naturalist has written more learnedly
or toiled more ardently than the late Dr. Darwin, whose
book on the Fertilization of Orchids will long remain the
standard work of reference. It is curious to observe
what apparent freaks flowers are subject to ; for while
one kind of Orchid (Epipactis latifolia), which greatly
resembles the Bee-Orchis, is fertilized by wasps, its sister
(E. viridifolid) is independent of insect agency and fer-
tilizes itself. It has been suggested by some writers that
the Bee-Orchis {Ophrys apiferd) has acquired its re-
semblance to that insect in order to frighten other
insects away. This shows how little able we are as yet
to read all the mysteries of nature ; for it certainly does
not seem likely that one Orchid would acquire the shape
and appearance of a wasp in order to attract the attention
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 199
of that creature, while its sister would simulate a bee in
order to scare the insect and prevent it alighting. In
some instances, no doubt, the flowers may be in a transi-
tion state, and are passing from the older and less health-
ful habit of self-fertilization to the more recent but most
valuable one of cross-fertilization. Old Gerarde, as might
be expected, has a number of quaint and interesting
remarks on these peculiar flowers, but we must refrain
from quoting him here.
" Why, what is that, father ? " asked my little girl the
other evening. " Is it a goat ? It looks just like one."
A book was lying open on my study table, and the object
which had suggested the question was the picture of the
curious plant known as the Tartarian lamb (Aspidium
Barometz), a species of Fern. A great deal has been
written respecting this very curious vegetable product
from the time of Struys, who travelled through Russia
and Tartary in the middle of the seventeenth century,
down to the present day, when Professor A. de Gubernatis
discourses about it in his work on Plant Mythology.
The following extract is from the Travels of the former
writer, and though a wonderful story, and much per-
verted, is nevertheless " founded on fact." Our author
says that, "On the western side of the Volga there is an
elevated salt plain of vast extent, but wholly uncultivated
and uninhabited. On this plain, which furnishes all the
200 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
neighbouring countries with salt, grows the Boranetz or
Bornitsch, This wonderful plant has the shape and
appearance of a lamb, with feet, head, and tail, distinctly
formed, Boranetz, in the language of Muscovy, signifies
a little lamb, and a similar name is given to this Fern.*
Its skin is covered with a very white down, as soft as silk.
The Tartars and Muscovites esteem it highly, and pre-
serve it with great care in their houses, where I have
seen many such lambs. The sailor who gave me one of
these precious plants, found it in a wood, and had its
skin made into an under-waistcoat. I learned at
Astrakan, from those who were best acquainted with the
subject, that the Lamb grows upon a stalk about three
feet high, that the part by which it is sustained is a kind
of navel, and that it turns itself round, and bends down-
ward to the herbage which serves for its food. They also
said that it dries up, and pines away when the grass fails.
To this I objected, that the langour and occasional
withering might be natural to it, as plants are accustomed
to fade at certain times. To this they replied, that they
had also once thought so, but that numerous experiments
proved the contrary to be the fact : such as cutting away,
or by other means corrupting or destroying the grass all
* The linguistic student will recognize the connection between
this word, and the Russian name for sheep. " Kaempfer says that
the sheep of the country are called by the people dwelling on the
borders of the Caspian Sea, Borannek."
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 201
around it ; after which, they assured me, it fell into a
languishing state, and decayed insensibly. These persons
also added, that the wolves are very fond of these vege-
table Lambs, and that they devour them with avidity,
because they resemble in taste the animals whose name
they bear ; and that, in fact, they have bones, blood,
and flesh : and hence they are called Zoophytes, that is,
plant-animals. Many other things I was likewise told,
which might, however, appear scarcely probable to such
as have not seen them." Surely in this case the plant
would not gain much by its mimicry, but if all this were
true we should suppose it was a wise provision on the
part of nature for rescuing the valuable sheep from the
hungry wolf, by placing a vegetable substitute before it.
This curious plant is found in South China, and may be
procured at Canton or Macao, but, as in many other cases,
the aid of the imagination must be called in to enable
one to see the exact representation of the Lamb in its
form. Dr. Darwin, in his " Loves of the Plants," written
towards the end of the eighteenth century, says :
" Cradled in snow, and fanned by Arctic air,
Shines, gentle Barometz ! thy golden hair ;
Rooted in earth, each cloven hoof descends,
And round and round her flexile neck she bends,
Crops the grey coral-moss, and hoary thyme,
Or laps with rosy tongue the melting rime,
Eyes with mute tenderness her distant dam,
Or seems to bleat, a Vegetable Lamb."
202 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
The reader will find the subject still further discussed in
the writings of such travellers as Yule, and such scholars
as Scaliger, A. de Gubernatis, and others. I may here
remark that in Russia the Cowslip {Primula verts) is
called Barancik) lamb, or "petit agneau."
Before we leave the question of plants taking the forms
of animals and insects, let us look at the fact that in the
case of many fruits there are also striking resemblances.
Dr. Cooke in his entertaining "Freaks and Marvels of Plant
Life,'' gives us an illustration of the so-called Snake Nut,
a fruit discovered in Demerara about half a century ago.
When the nut is opened and the membrane removed, the
kernel presents a striking resemblance to a snake coiled
up. " There was the head, the mouth, the eyes, so com-
plete, that one unacquainted with the fact would have
believed them to be an imitation made by human hands,
and not a freak of nature. As is often the case with the
productions of the interior, the colonists were entirely un-
acquainted with the mode of growth of the plant which
produced these strange nuts. . . . From the resem-
blance of the kernel to a snake, it was supposed that it
might prove an antidote to snake poison." The reference
in this last sentence to the doctrine of signatures reminds
us that much may be learned respecting the similarity in
the shape of leaves, flowers, and fruits, to animals and
organs of the human body, by a study of the old herbalists.
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 203
In China I have frequently seen the women searching
for the fruit of the Water Chestnut (Trapa bicornis) which,
as its trivial name implies, has two horns exactly resem-
bling the head of a bull. The people are very fond of
this fruit, and I have many a time been kept awake for
hours by the mongers who were hawking them in their
boats up and down the river till midnight.
To turn to the curious similarity between plants of very
different orders : I have no doubt that many young
botanists have mistaken the pretty Hare's Ear (Bupleurum)
for a Spurge (Euphorbia). For some time after I had
commenced the study of botany, a specimen of the former
lay in my herbarium among my various species of Spurge,
it being impossible for me to identify the plant with any
of the Euphorbias of my text-books ; and yet the thought
never occurred to me that the specimen belonged to
another family, till an accident suddenly opened my eyes
and revealed the secret. Another of the umbels greatly
puzzled me once, for when I first saw it growing, the
flowers being as yet imperfect, I concluded from the
palmate shape of the leaves that it must be one of the
Hellebores, and belong to the Ranunculus order {Ranun-
culacece). When the flowers appeared they proved a
puzzle, for they differed entirely from all the Hellebores
with which 1 was familiar, and at last I ascertained that
it ranked with quite another order ( Umbelltferie\ and was
20 4 MINISTR Y OF FL WERS
called Astrantia major. My young friends have often
been puzzled by the comparison and contrast of the
Penny-wort {Cotyledon umbilicus) and the marsh Penny-
wort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris), yet with all their similarity
they are very widely separated.
How many plants there are whose leaves are similar.
We take the Ivy as a model, and find a Speedwell, Toad-
flax, Nepeta, and other plants with leaves of a similar
shape. In like manner the Cactus has its mimic in the
Euphorbia, the Horse-tail (Equisefum) in the Mare's-tail
(Hifipuris), the plants in either case being far removed in
organic structure from those of the mimic. The Rock-rose
(Helianthemum) which in England forms an order by itself
(Cistacece) is very similar in appearance to a Buttercup
on the one hand, and a Potentilla on the other, yet there
is no relation between them whatever.
Instances might be multiplied indefinitely, and the
reader will find it interesting to make a note of striking-
similarities between plants of different orders, and the
mistakes he falls into in trying to decide to what family
a given flower belongs. The fact that plants of widely
different orders have leaves, roots, tendrils, flowers or
fruits which are similar to those of other orders, genera,
or species, makes the botanist very careful how he passes
his opinion on a critical plant unless he has the whole of
the essential organs before him. The elegum-bearing
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 205
plants have been called papilionaceous, because in many
species the flowers (as in peas, beans, and broom) bear a
striking resemblance to the form of a butterfly ; yet who,
on seeing an Acacia in flower, would suppose that it was
related to these well-known plants ? Its flowers have not
the insect form, but the fruit is a legume nevertheless.
The adoption of these curious forms on the part of
plants must be intended for some useful purpose. In
some instances the end to be attained can be at once
detected, as when a flower secures insect fertilization by
attracting to itself the bee or fly which its own form re-
sembles. In other cases the problem is as yet unsolved,
and the field for patient investigation is an inviting one
for such as wish to know what study is worth their atten-
tion. Look at the Geraniums, for example, and observe
how one has leaves like an Oak, another the form of Ivy,
and yet another the leaf of an Anemone. One, whose
home is in Switzerland, has been called the aconite-
leaved, and another, which grows in Italy, has a tuberous
root. Miss Kent remarks " that it is curious to observe
how some plants appear to be compounded of others."
Thus the Japanese Camellia has been noticed as resem-
bling a Bay-tree with Roses ; the Arbutus is like another
species of Bay, yielding Strawberries ; and the Laburnum
seems like a tree made up of large Trefoil and garlands
of yellow Pea-blossom. While one species of Milkwort
206 MINIS Tit Y OF FLO WERS
(Polygald) has leaves like Furze, another like Box, and a
third like Myrtle, another species (Securidacd) has winged
seeds like the Samara of our Maple. But examples
must not be multiplied, for we would again impress the
fact that we wish, not so much to supply all the facts
that have been collected by others, as to lead the reader
to begin for himself a personal investigation of these
freaks of nature,
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OR LIFE. 207
THE ART OF WINNING-
>T is now a well established fact that
the flowers adopt different devices
for securing the services of insect
and other visitors, by means of which
self-fertilization is secured. Some-
times this end is secured by means
of perfumes, sweet as attar of Roses,
sometimes by means of curious
bracts, leaves or appendages of various kinds around the
floral organs, but most generally by means of gaudy
petals, perianth, or corolla. That such an end is kept in
view may be fairly argued from the fact, that those flowers
which are self-fertilized grow in winter and spring when
insects are rare, or depend upon the passing breeze or
shower, seldom have showy flowers. Take, for example,
the w T ind-fertilized (anemophilous) flowers, represented
by such catkin-bearing trees as Willow, Hazel, Oak,
Alder. The long tassels of yellow and red are pollen -
bearing or staminate flowers, and the pistillate forms are
usually so insignificant that only the botanist is aware of
208 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
their existence and use. If a bee or other insect were to
visit these tassels it would only be for the sake of the
honey or pollen, for it would certainly not visit the flowers
which have pistils awaiting fertilization by the catkin's
pollen. Here then, while the catkins are very graceful,
and make a lovely show in February and March —
" While the trees are leafless,
While the fields are bare,"
no end would be gained by the production of richly
coloured blossoms, and the material which would be re-
quired for the perfection of such organs can now be
employed in making a large supply of flour or pollen, to
ensure a sufficient quantity falling on the female flowers
whenever the wind blows it away from the anthers.
The same argument applies to such flowers as the
Groundsel, Chickweed, Whitlow-grass, Bittercress, and
some species of the Buttercup, together with many other
early spring wild-flowers. If you look at them carefully you
will find the following among other facts : ( i) Some of them
are reproduced by bulbs or corms, as the Snowdrop, (2)
some by tuberous growths, as the lesser Celandine (Ranun-
culus. Ficarid), (3) some by division and multiplication of
the root, as the Primrose, (4) some by seed which is
produced by self-fertilization. In all these instances the
plants can be entirely independent of insects, conse-
quently they do not require showy blossoms. In some
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES- OF LIFE. 209
cases the flowers profit by the visits of insects 3 although
their continued reproduction would be ensured without
their agency. The Primrose, for example, often profits
by the kindly attention of bees, butterflies and other
insects, and from the seed thus secured, new varieties
may be obtained. But if you will look at some flowers
you will find that it is utterly impossible for them to pro-
duce seed or propagate their species without the aid of
insects, animals or man. The gardener is well aware that
his Apricots, Nectarines, and other fruit trees, will be
fruitless, no matter how much blossom they have, if bees
are not admitted to the house, or his own hands are not
busily employed in touching the pistils of the flowers with
pollen-bearing stamens. Sometimes the pistil is so much
longer than the stamens that the pollen of the same
flower cannot possibly reach it ; at other times the
stamens ripen before the pistils or vice versa, while yet
again the anthers will open outwards and shed the pollen
in such a way that it all falls away from, instead of to-
wards, the stigmatic surface of the pistil. In all these,
and a variety of other cases, as, for example, when the
pistils grow on one flower or plant, and the stamens on
another, insect agency is indispensable.
A fragrant smell is emitted by many flowers in order to
attract the attention of those creatures whose services are
required. The little leafless Daphne (D. Mezereum) \> ex-
o
2 j o MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
ceedingly sweet. There is a lilac or purple flowered variety
which grows wild in some parts of England, and is fre-
quently cultivated as well ; there is also a white flowered
kind which is found in gardens. The country people will
tell you that the purple is the male and the white the
female shrub, but you must not place too much faith in
such assertions. In each case the organs are the same,
but the white variety appears to me to be sweeter than
the purple, and, though I have not been able to verify the
matter by personal observation, I should readily believe
that the white variety is visited more largely than the pur-
ple by moths and night flying insects. Here observe that,
as a rule, the most fragrant flowers are not the most gaudy,
nor are the gayest generally famous for their scent. The
white Hyacinth, Daphne, Violet, and other modest flowers
are able to convert into perfume the material which the
bright scarlet Geranium or large flowered Holyhock puts
into pigment. Hence it will be found that night flowering
plants are usually fragrant, and have petals either white or
yellow, or a slight modification of these simple colours.
Pass through a field where the white Campion {Lychnis
vespertine?) is growing profusely, and while you will scarcely
notice their presence during the day you will be amazed
about eventide at the rich perfume which is wafted across
the field, and the dazzling purity of the large open-eyed
blossoms. The colour and scent are both calculated to
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 211
attract moths, and if you are an entomologist, or delight
in collecting butterflies and moths, this will be your harvest
field. The evening Primrose (CEnethcra biennis), the
sweet Crocus, and many other plants rank with the Cam-
pion and Stock as night odorous flowers. Some have sup-
posed that the Snowdrop should be included, but whether
it enjoys the favour of insect visits I cannot say. The
Tobacco plant produces blossoms which are much prized
by many people who cultivate it as a window plant on ac-
count of its fragrance.
Sweetness of odour is not, however, by any means con-
fined to night-flowering species. We may mention the
Violet, Narcissus, Alyssum, Wood-ruffe, Honeysuckle,
Heather, Rose, Sweet-brier, Dianthus, Orchis, wild Mig-
nonette, and Meadow-sweet as a few representatives of
our British wild flowers with a sweet smell. In some in-
stances the scent is accompanied with a large amount of
honey or other sweeter substance, while in other instances
the honey exists without any remarkable perfume, so far
as we can detect, but with flowers of various hues. The
leguminous plants such as Clover, Peas. Gorse, Broom,
and Vetch seem to be large producers of honey ; so are
the Labiate and Composite orders in many instances.
In the Lonicera this is so remarkable that we have by
universal consent called it the Honeysuckle, a name which
is applied in many places to the catkins of willow or flower
2 1 2 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
heads of clover, as well. Now this supply of honey was
primarily intended for the benefit of the plant itself; but
since the best way by means of which the flower could be
benefited would be by the visits of butterflies and bees, the
flowers have taken the insects into partnership, the former
being in fact " sleeping partners " finding the capital by
means of which business can be carried on. The har-
mony of nature in this respect is exceedingly interesting
and beautiful. Yet even here we find law-breakers : insects
which will steal the store of honey without fertilizing the
plant. If you will study some of the commonest plants
carefully during the spring time you will find that their
secret chambers have been broken into by insects armed
with saws, crowbars, and pickaxes, in the shape of organs
attached to their mouths, and with these they have suc-
ceeded clandestinely in admitting the insect to the honey
store which has been " with malice aforethought ' ; taken
away. In this way floral good nature, like that of man,
is sometimes imposed upon, and to prevent this many
flowers have armed themselves with spines, horny material
or silex.
In addition to the use of fragrant odours and sweet
secretions, we find also the employment of highly-coloured
leaves. Sometimes these are scarlet bracts as in the now
well-known Poinsettia, which makes a very showy appear-
ance, even though its actual blossoms are insignificant.
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 2:3
As these highly-coloured leaves would attract day visitors,
so in China I have seen large plants bearing white bracts
of a similar kind, which would seem to be intended to
attract night flying insects. Similar to this is the method
adopted by the Guelder Rose ( Viburnum), which has a
large head of white flowers, the outer row of which con-
sists of barren florets, which attract insects towards the
plant when the central blossoms, which are fertile, lay
claim to their sympathies and assistance. The large
heads which are characteristic of so many of our common
umbels, and such plants as the Elder, are designed to
give the plants prominence, their size at once compen-
sating for want of colour and securing the fertilization of
a large number of ovules.
Of large, showy blossoms, it will scarcely be necessary
to speak, for every one will recognize the immense advan-
tages enjoyed by plants which can advertise their wares
in bright colours and bold type. The flora of this country
does not present to our view such astonishing plants as
we meet with abroad, but even here we have flowers of
which no country need feel ashamed. In the East
vegetation is luxuriant, and the insects are much larger
than our own. Look at the cases of butterflies and
moths which come from India, China, the West Indies,
and other tropical lands. Such aristocrats would think it
beneath them to notice many of the small blossoms which
2 1 4 MINIS 'TR V OF FL 0. WERS
cater so successfully for our own insects. They must
, f have plants whose petals are large and showy, hence we
find the trees, shrubs, and even humbler plants putting
forth enormous blossoms, and the first glimpse one
obtains of tropical vegetation is perfectly amazing. We
can form some idea of the general appearance of a forest,
hedgerow, or field in foreign lands by a visit to Chats-
worth or Kew, and when we have looked upon the enor-
mous Cactus flowers, Orchids, and Azaleas, not to
mention plants less known to the general reader, we shall
readily understand that insects and flowers in the East
are as beautifully adapted to each other as they are in the
West. It is scarcely true that flowers which grow in
tropical lands are without fragrance. The Narcissus,
Jasmine, and very many other plants, are surpassingly
sweet ; but at the same time, as gaudy birds are not
usually great songsters, so gaudy flowers are not great
perfumers. This is natural, and shows with what care
Nature is adapted to meet the ends she has in view.
The plumage of Australian birds is sufficient of itself to
secure for the proud creatures such attention as they require
without the need of song ; but our modest lark, thrush,
or robin, wanting in plumage, make up for the loss by
pouring out strains of sweetest melody. The Scarlet
Geranium is sufficiently attractive, with its head of well
known flowers, without the aid of a scent- bottle ; but the
ELDER.
{face p. 214.
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 2\$
pale and modest Lily of the Valley might be overlooked,
did it not send out upon the evening air a delicate and
sweet perfume.
The colours of flowers in their relations to insects are
very interesting. Persons who reside in the neighbour-
hood of Richmond or Oxford will be well acquainted
with the Fritillary {Fritillaria Meleagris) with its chequered
petals, somewhat resembling a chess board. Some-
times we find specimens which are entirly white, others
are a compromise between the lighter and darker
varieties. In some cases the existence of flowers whose
colours fluctuate in this way indicates that a change is
coming over their habit, and affords ground for the
evolutionist's theories. I may mention the Hepaticas,
Forget-me-not, and wild Geraniums. Freaks of nature,
however, are common — at least we call them freaks
because we are as yet ignorant of any law which regu-
lates them ; consequently we find such anomalies as
white Bluebells, white Herb-Roberts, and the like,
whereas the original colour is pink, red or blue. Into
this interesting study we must not venture now, although
the note book of a careful student may soon be filled
with interesting and instructive facts drawn from per-
sonal observation.
Not less interesting is the study of the shapes of
flowers in relation to insects. Look, for example, at the
2 1 6 MINIS 'TR Y OF FIO WERS
Foxglove, Harebell, or Dead Nettle, and you will find
that their very contour, the arrangement of the tube,
stamens and pistil, and the manner in which they are
suspended, all bear evidence to the fact that the art of
winning has been carefully studied. But the study of
this subject, if carried out to anything like its proper
limits, would fill a volume. We must therefore be con-
tent with the mention of one other point, viz., that
which relates to fruits. It is now generally admitted
that the shapes and colours of fruits have special refer-
ence to the birds, animals, and insects which partake of
them as food. Our common hips and haws are favourite
dainties with certain migratory birds which carry the
vital portions to various parts of the country and even to
other lands, and deposit them in spots suited to their
future growth. The question of the colours of fruits has
not yet been so carefully studied as that of flowers, and
conflicting conclusions are arrived at by scholars who
have given the subject their attention, but this does not
alter the fact that the bright colour of such berries as
grow on the Arum, Rose, Hawthorn, Yew and other
plants, shrubs and trees, is specially suited to attract the
attention of birds.
The moral of all this will be patent. Surely there is
something to be learnt from the study of so interesting a
subject. The business man may learn that clever
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 217
methods of advertising will undoubtedly result in the
growth of trade ; neighbours may learn that sweetness of
temper and bright smiling glances will secure the interest
and affection of others ; and all of us may learn that a
bright, beautiful, fragrant, and fruitful life will secure the
goodwill of those who are around us, and enable us to
make our mark in the world.
MWlSTRi OB FLOWERS
PARASITISM.
\
I J
DURING a voyage through the Indian
Ocean some time ago, the steamer on which
I was travelling came to a stand. While
we were waiting for it to resume its course,
a cry was raised announcing that a shark
was at the stern of the large vessel, seek-
ing its breakfast. A bait of pork was pro-
vided for it, and the monster caught and
hauled on board. When we came to examine it
we found on its back a fish which secured its living
by preying on the shark. It was simply a parasite,
but of rather a large order, and, no doubt, like other
fish it in turn proved host to other parasites. There is
scarcely a representative of the animal world which has
not one or more unbidden guests. Such unsavoury
creatures as bugs, fleas, and lice are to be found not
only on the persons and property of uncleanly people,
but also on monkeys and bears, cats and dogs, poultry
and birds, in fact, m one form or another, they abound
everywhere. What is true of the animal world is equally
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OE LIFE. 219
true of the vegetable. Some parasites are exceedingly
large, the Mistletoe being perhaps the best known English
example. As I drive through Sherwood Forest from
time to time I can see, not only on ancient Whitethorn
trees, but high up among the branches of massive Poplar
and other trees, the dark green boughs of this curious
plant. There is a wonderful range between this parasite
and that which, in the form of rust or blight, attacks and
destroys our corn. The one is so large that in winter its
deep coloured leaves may be detected among the bare
trees for a mile ; the other so small that a powerful lens
is required to bring out its form and definition. Yet
strange to say, these parasites have their parasites also.
Upon the Mistletoe bough will be found such things as
lichens and insects, and I have just found a tiny insect
living on the micro-fungi of the Blackberry, and the
cluster-cups (Vadium) of the Berberry. In the former
case, the fungi had been mounted for the microscope and
examined more than once before the tiny parasite was
detected among the dark brown spores ; in the latter
case, the little green insect tottered over the cups on the
underside of the leaf, just as though it were trying to span
the crater of a miniature volcano, and ever and anon it
would go tumbling into the fiery lava, " but came out
again unscathed ! Parasites upon parasites — we have
but just begun to realize how everything forms a pastur-
220 MIN1STR Y OF FL WERS
age for something else. Here is a tiny sprig of moss
which I found yesterday parasitic on a bush. It is no
larger than a pm, but if you look at it you will find it has
a bright red head. That spot, which looks like a tiny
carbuncle set on the end of a silver pin of delicate work-
manship, is a perfect fungus, as you may easily prove to
yourself by putting it under an inch lens. Thus the
moss which preys upon another plant is in its turn the
host of a third, and each of these belongs to as widely
different orders as do the flea and the pigeon.
In the vegetable world then there is scarcely a plant or
flower which has not its parasite. I will not here dwell
on the mosses and lichens again, as we have already seen
what is their position and purpose in the world. To the
Dodder and some other plants attention has also been
directed in the foregoing pages, and I shall, therefore,
limit myself to a few further notes on the simplest and
minutest forms of plant parasites. These may be found
all the year round. The common Groundsel (Senecio
vulgaris), especially when growing on somewhat poor
soil, will be found from January to December, affording
daily sustenance to a minute golden fungus (7'richobasis
or Coleosporium senecionis). I have just returned from a
stroll across a stubble field, around the headlands of
which a good many Groundsel plants are to be found.
As I pulled up one after another of these weeds I found
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 221
one, two, or more leaves bearing on their undersurface the
object for which I was searching. In its early stages it
is simply a smooth, shining, yellow spot or ser es of spots.
no larger than a pin's head. By-and-bye, the skin bursts
and a number of very minute globules are seen to be
thrusting forth their heads. Later on these will have
escaped, and may be seen scattered over the leaf in the
form of gold dust. Their structure is very simple. If
you scrape a little of the dust on to a slide, and examine
it under the microscope, you will find that it consists of
spores of irregular form, without appendages of any kind.
In this they differ from the fungi which are found on the
leaves of the Bramble and Raspberry, which are of a
much more complex and interesting character.
As the groundsel rust may be found early in the year,
its study may occupy us till the leaves of the Buttercup
begin to appear, when we shall be able to find new objects
of interest. On the leaves of the lesser Celandine
{Ranunculus Ficarid) we shall find, in early spring, sped
mens of an interesting Clustercup, and when these make
their appearance the harvest of the micro-fungi hunter
has commenced. These Clustercups are delightful
studies as opaque objects under a low power, and most
of our readers will prefer to see them in their simple state,
leaving to the specialist the task of mounting sections and
examining the parasites minutely. When once found on
222 MINI ST R Y OF FL WERS
the under side of a leaf their form will readily be re-
cognised again, for they have exactly the form and
appearance of fairy cheese-cakes, and look very much like
certain forms of Pezizse or the so-called Fairy Baths.
You will now find them abundantly on the leaves of the
troublesome Coltsfoot, on the Berberry, Primrose, Daisy,
Dandelion, Violet, Geranium, Bedstraw and Nettle, as
well as on other plants. In some instances you will find
the leaves of a plant attacked with two or three species
of fungi at the same time.
Here is a leaf of the wood Anemone. It has not
only a large number of Clustercups contorting and
modifying its segments, but there is a Puccinia abounding
on it as well \ and this leaf of the Willow-herb (Epilobium)
is in the same predicament. Whether you go into the
meadow or copse, the garden or orchard, the cornfield or
lane, everywhere, when your eyes are practised, you will
find these interesting objects. Several kinds may be
found even in the depth of winter. Not only does the
green mould (Peronospora) now abound, but the leaves of
the Bramble will be found affording nutriment to thou-
sands of delicate and complex forms which well deserve
your careful study. I have spent much time in the study
of the Bramble-brand (.Aregma hulbosum), and every time I
take it up it seems to possess a new charm. Those who
have microscopes, and can manipulate the slides, should
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 223
watch the breaking up of spores by the action of warm
nitric acid, for the experiment is most simple and de-
lightful. Put a cluster of spores on your slide with a
drop of strong acid, cover with a thin glass circle and
heat gently over the lamp. When the air bubbles begin
to appear, slip the glass under your lens and watch the
result. You will want all your friends to come and
witness it.
Even in winter you will find some of the grasses in-
fested with fungi, and last winter I came across a most
interesting species of Ustilago in a wood, where too I
found the skeletonized capsules of the wild Hyacinth and
its seeds covered with another interesting parasite. But
summer and autumn are the seasons in which these min-
ute plants abound and may be found in perfection. The
pear trees in your orchard will be found to afford types
worth investigation (Rcestelia), while the potato, onion,
parsnip and lettuce are but a few of the garden crops
which are subject to attack and often suffer exceedingly.
Even the herbs are not exempt, for the Mint and Sage,
as well as the dead stems of asparagus, are frequently
found supporting a host of these unwelcome parasites.
It is only here and there that we find the Box-tree grow-
ing luxuriantly in a wild state, but I have recently found
this evergreen attaining the size of moderate trees and
bringing forth fruit. Examining the seed vessels of a
224 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
number of these plants the other day, I found that they
too were attacked by a fungus of very tiny growth, which
was nevertheless performing its work of decomposition
with considerable rapidity and success.
Fungi are not the only parasites which prey on plants,
but this family is so large and varied that volumes have
been already filled with their life-history, and when we
remember that some of them, such as Ergot, are of use
medicinally, that others create fermentation, as the yeast
plant, others cover our bread and cheese with mould,
and yet others destroy our vegetables and cereals, we
shall see that they are worthy our study and demand at-
tention. Parasites are not usually genial or welcome
companions, yet they have their uses. The flea is any-
thing but a pleasant associate, but its presence indicates
that the broom, soap, fresh air, and other conducives to
health are needed, and if its warning voice be heeded
disease may often be averted. The parasites on leaves
prove destructive to many plants, but by their agency the
law of circularity in life is kept a-going, and if you were
to study the spores of moulds and brands, which are in
some instances so minute that thousands would be re-
quired to fill an inch of space, you will see what a great
deal must be done by their agency to reduce larger
growths to dust and powder and so create new soil for
nobler plants. There is a good deal of parasitism in
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 225
human society also which is equally useful. Mansions
and manorial halls are like the large plants ; servants,
tradesmen, and beggars of various kinds are the parasites
which keep the great mass from accumulating too much
life and strength. They break up the gold into smaller
portions, and set it free foi flowing into new channels,
and stimulating new enterprises, and so the world con-
tinues to go round, and life to see its needed changes and
revolutions.
226
MINISTRY OF FLOWERS
SENSITIVENESS AND IRRITABILITY.
ONCE spent some time at
Penang, an important and
lovely spot in the Straits of
A Malacca. As it was the day
of the March full moon, a
most important ceremony was being
observed by a certain religious sect
which is largely represented there, and
'''■WjM everybody was going to the Waterfall,
i---k\w^ near which a shrine in honour of one
of the gods of the Hindu Pantheon was erected, It was
a lovely day, and a party of us started off to spend a few
hours on the hills, visit the stream and temple, and see
the sights of the occasion. At the foot of the hills we
left our Ghari, or conveyance, and proceeded to finish
the journey on foot. Groups of people were to be seen
in every direction, some begging, some selling curiosities,
some bathing, some feeding — all happy and good tem-
pered. Presently, as we were climbing a gentle ascent
our faces bent earthwards, what was our surprise at
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 227
finding that all around us the vegetation for two or three
feet seemed to be alive with motion. Every time we set
a fresh footstep, scores of leaves suddenly collapsed and
quivered as though they had been affrighted animals.
A glance was sufficient to reveal the fact that we were
walking on the enchanted carpet of a Mimosa bed, and
we realised more vividly than ever before the accuracy of
the name, " Sensitive Plant." Many of my readers have
already made themselves acquainted with the fact that
plants possessed of sensitive qualities are not con-
fined to the Mimosa family or to the East ; but it may
not be so familiar a fact to others that our own flora
supplies us with a number of instances of plants which
are constructed with such delicacy that they recoil from
the rude touch of Nature's finger, close as her chilling
breath passes over them, twist themselves like worms
before the gardener when a change of weather is pending,
hide their face in a storm, and close their leaves or petals
as the shades of evening approach, opening them again
with the greatest precision as the morning dew reflects
the image of the orb of day. Others, like the well-
known and curious Sundew {JDrosera) and Venus' Fly-
trap (Dioncea), are sensitive to the touch of animals and
insects, and their study is of the profoundest interest.
Let us begin with plants which may be met with most
commonly. And first on the list we will place the so-
228 MINISTR Y OF FLO WERS
called Hygrometric Moss (Funaria hygrometrica\ the
peristome and fruit-stalk of which act like a barometer,
by the way in which they indicate very slight variations
in the moisture of the atmosphere. In this Moss, as in
many others, the fruit consists of a kind of urn or capsule
containing spores, which are kept from escaping by
means of a single or double row of teeth. Not only
does the fruit-stalk twist up like a cord when the weather
changes, but the teeth contract and close the mouth of
the urn in wet weather, so that the contents of the theca
can only be dispersed under favourable atmospheric
conditions. Thus the sensibility of the plant is made
subservient to a great end, and helps to ensure the proper
dispersion of spores on whose germination the continu-
ance of the race depends.
In former times, the superstitious were frequently
deceived by designing men by means of awns of the
wild Oat, which were said to be the legs of an Arabian
spider. These awns, when damped or moistened either
by the breath or by a drop of water, are subject to strange
contortions and wrigglings, and these movements were
interpreted by the jugglers in such a way as to delude
the ignorant. Now, the possession of such appendages
on the part of seeds is often of great value, for by their
means the seed is enabled to fix itself in the soil, where
it is held until roots are thrown out and germination
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OE LIFE. 229
commences. The elaters which are found in the Horse-
tails {Equisetuni) are useful for the same purpose, seeing
that they not only serve to disperse the spores, but
by their sensitiveness to moisture readily open on touch-
ing the damp surface of the earth, and so clutch the soil
and secure a resting-place for their charge, which in due
time begins to grow. The study of these elaters, which
are found also in the Puff-ball, Liverwort, and other
plants, is full of interest. Those who are fond of
observing the freaks of Nature will find many similar
instances of sensitiveness and irritability. Take, for
example, the old-fashioned Balsam, which has merited
the name of Touch-me-not, through its irritability. You
no sooner touch one of the seed vessels which is ripen-
ing, than, with a jerk that quite startles you, it splits
and curls up, throwing the seeds to a great distance. A
similar act may be observed in the wild Geraniums, and
if you should be preparing specimens for the herbarium
which have seed vessels nearly or quite ripe, do not be
surprised if you suddenly hear a crack, and see the seeds
flying up to the ceiling, or across to the extremities of
the room.
You will find that the flowers of the Dog's Mercury
(Mercurialis perenne) are often subject to fits of irrita-
bility, and by this means the staminate flowers are some-
times enabled to cast their pollen on to the viscid
230 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WERS
surfaces of the pistillate blossoms. In the Berberry,
Pellitory, Nettle, and a number of other plants, the
stamens or pistils manifest a similar irritability.
The Corline Thistle is frequently employed on the
Continent just in the same way as country folk in
England use a piece of Sea : weed for indicating coming
changes in the weather, and there is not a boy or girl
who lives in the country but knows how regularly the
little Shepherd's Weather-glass (Anagallis arvensis\ or
Scarlet Pimpernel, will close its fair petals before a
coming storm. True, the little plant must not be so im-
plicitly trusted as some people believe ; yet, as a rule, it
will be very quick in its response to atmospheric warn-
ings. The same may also be said of many other plants,
which not only have regular hours for closing and
opening their eyes, but will keep up their shutters on a
rainy day, and open them cautiously when the weather is
unsettled. Then the sleep of plants, as it is called, is
another illustration of sensitiveness. Some plants are
regular sluggards, for they only open their doors at noon
and close them again directly after dinner ; others rise
late and retire early, while most open their petals in the
morning and close them again in the evening, thus
showing that they are capable of distinguishing between
the various portions of the day. Some open only in the
evening or early morning, their habits being as regula as
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE. 231
those of their neighbours. Thus the Red Campion
flowers by day, but the white variety blossoms at night.
The exceptions with which one frequently meets would
seem to indicate that the night-flowering species had not
yet fully adopted the habit, for in passing through a field
of corn or clover you will occasionally find a White
Lychnis in bloom in the morning or afternoon. But in
these cases, I have generally observed that the fragrance
of the night-blooming plants has not been present, or at
any rate, only to a very small degree.
But not only do flowers go to sleep, we find that the
leaves of plants also assume different positions during the
night from those which they maintain during the day.
Plants with trifoliate and pinnate leaves, especially such
as belong to the great family of legumes, represented by
the clover, wood-sorrel, sensitive plant and acacias, are
specially noteworthy in this respect. Writing on this
subject, Dr. Brown remarks, that " Perhaps in no plants is
this irritability better shewn than in some Leguminosse,
especially in Mimosas or Sensitive Plants. These plants
have bipinnate leaves, with four secondary petioles start-
ing from a common rachis (leaf-stalk) or petiole, each of
the petioles being provided with a number of pairs of
leaflets, which are expanded horizontally during day-
light. If the common Sensitive Plant {Mimosa pudicd)
is suddenly jarred or touched, the leaflets will change
232 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
their position, overlapping one another from below up-
wards, close to the secondary petiole ; on greater irritation
being applied, the secondary petioles also bend forward
and approach one another, and finally the general petiole
sinks down by means of a bending at its articulation or
junction with the stem." In confirmation of what I have
said at the commencement of this section, we may quote
a few other words from this same writer's " Manual of
Botany. " After stating that in our own hot-houses these
plants are rarely so sensitive as in their native climate, Dr.
Brown adds that " there the concussion caused by a horse
galloping along the road on the sides of which the plant
grows will often have the effect of causing the leaves to
fold up. We have often noticed this effect produced
by the passing of a train along the Panama railroad in
New Granada, on the sides of which the plant grows
abundantly. So sensitive are they that on one plant fold-
ing its leaflet, the contact wall irritate its neighbour, and
so on — the irritability travelling along the patch almost
as fast as the traveller can keep up with it in walking. "
What we thus find in this class of plants when acted upon
by an irritant in the day-time, we find to a greater or less
degree in many other plants as night approaches. The
power of folding and opening its leaves will be found
to exist, for example, in our common Clover and
Wood-sorrel. Either of these plants may be readily
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LITE. 233
watched by persons resident in the country, while the
latter is capable of being cultivated with ease in a
flower-pot by those who live in towns, and we can suggest
no pleasanter pastime than that of studying the sleeping
and waking of the leaves, together with the two kinds of
flowers, the adventitious buds produced by decaying leaves
and other remarkable phenomena relating to the history
of the Wood-sorrel.
Acacias are now largely grown in this country, and
they are among the most remarkable of leaf-sleeping
plants, being, indeed, closely related to the Mimosa and
Clover. But those who keep their eyes open as they
take their morning and evening walks will be continually
struck by the change which comes over a variety of
plants with which they meet ; and the greenhouse, garden,
and lane will have many a lesson for those of us who
are willing to learn them. Many text-books of botany
now have a chapter on the subject of the irritability of
plants, and those who wish thoroughly to investigate
the subject will find Darwin's works on the Movements
of Plants, Insectivorous Plants, and kindred topics, full
of fact and romance. Perhaps the most interesting and
popular digest of the subject is that by Dr. Cooke in his
" Freaks and Marvels of Plant Life."
While discussing this branch of our study, it would be
unpardonable were we to omit all reference to those plants
2.34 MINIS 'TR Y OF FLO WERS
which are now commonly known as insectivorous — I
mean the Sundews and their allies. It would be impos-
sible for me to add anything new to the facts already ac-
cumulated ; but, at the same time, every lover of plants
and student of their phenomena must be aware that these
flowers are among the most remarkable that have ever been
discovered. The term Sundew has reference to the appear-
ance of the leaves of Drosera. Each leaf is supplied
with hairs or tentacles, on the ends of which a tiny dew-
drop appears to be lodged. When an insect a-ights upon
the leaf, these dewdrops act as a kind of sticky gum and
prevent its escape, the leaf meanwhile closing on its prey
and strangling or stifling it to death. Both in America
and on the Continent, as well as in our own country,
careful investigations into these matters have been pro-
secuted, with the most interesting and startling results.
In botanic gardens and conservatories, one will often
see specimens of the curious Venus' Flytrap (Dionoea),
with leaves notched in such a way that when they fold
up their effect is similar to that of a pair of toothed
clams, such as were so largely used a few years ago for
rats, mice, and vermin in woods. The leaves of these
plants are more sensitive even than those of the Sun-
dew, and when an insect alights upon them it is instantly
secured. " The Drosera captures its prey by means of
its viscid secretion, and the pressure caused by the
RESPECTING VARIOUS FEATURES OF LIFE, 235
struggles of the insect produces inflection, which it accom-
plishes quite at its leisure. Dionaea, having no secretion,
secures its prey by instantly closing upon it. The fila-
ments, therefore, which cause the lobes to close instantly
at the lightest touch, are comparatively indifferent to pro-
longed pressure. These filaments have nothing whatever
to do with the digestive process; they are merely the
sentinels on guard to signal the approach of a victim."
These are but a few illustrations of the sensitiveness of
plants and flowers, and the irritability which they manifest
under provocation. How far useful ends are answered
in these curious operations it is impossible in many in-
stances as yet to say. We can at present see no more
justification for the act of murder on the part of Dionsea
when touched by a fly than on the part of a man when
irritated by a fellow creature. The plant does not require
the insect for food, at least so far as we can ascertain,
otherwise it would be analogous to the slaughter of a
sheep or pig by the butcher. On the other hand, a due
amount of sensitiveness is most useful to such plants as
Mimosa, Acacia, Clover and Wood-sorrel. And a sensitive
conscience is equally beneficial to us. He who can tell
when evil is approaching and will listen to the dictates of
a voice within will be saved from many of the calamities
which overtake others.
In concluding this brief study of some of the more re-
236 MINIS TR Y OF FLO WFRS.
markable phenomena of plant life, we may observe that it
has not been our purpose to moralise too much, it being
hoped that the hints will be sufficient to suggest a line of
thought which will prove profitable to the reader, and
assist him in the pleasing task of explaining and enforcing
homely truths in a simple manner when dealing with
others. Apart, too, from the lessons which are taught us
by the flowers, and their higher ministry as expositors of
Divine love and wisdom, their study is of value for scien-
tific, medicinal and physical reasons. Botany now ranks
high as a science, the flowers and plants supply us with
many of our most valuable medicines, and the search for
these stars of earth is one of the most enjoyable and health-
ful of exercises. From no other pursuit has the author
derived so much physical and mental benefit, and he
therefore confidently commends it to others.
THE END.
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