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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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