LIFE IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
By William Covert
Plants Foretell the Weather.
THE majority of people love fair weather, and, if a storm is expected, they try to fortify against it. But the farmer and the gardener wish for moisture upon their growing crops, and therefore welcome the rainfall. In these things men find themselves closely imitated in the vegetable family. The plant, being in accord with nature, can feel the influence of the coming storm more readily than man can feel it. If the florist finds at nine o’clock that his tulips and marigolds are folded up, he expects rain that day. These, and many other flowers, close doors to keep the rain from soiling their beauty, and injuring the life of the seeds they are holding in embryo. The Canada thistle, being a very hardy plant, keeps open door in stormy weather, the same as when the sun shines. Many small flowers, like the pimpernel, which expand near the ground, close up tight in moist weather. Several varieties of the most delicate flowers close up for the night and for the storm. Some flowers that bloom very early in the spring, before the insects begin their work, close up at night for the purpose of fertilization. The rose never closes. It fears neither the night nor the day of rain. The sun can not be too hot, nor the clouds too dark, for the roses. Let the Christian be in character like the delicate flowers that protect their charge in the day of storm. Let him also be as the rose, which shows a cheerful face, and sends forth its fragrance both night and day. The student who will carefully observe the movement and the attitude of plants, will find many of them very good time-keepers. They mark the hours of the day with almost the precision of a clock. Many of the brightest flowers have their appointed hours for display. A few make their toilet as early as two in the morning. The morning-glory is full and bright at five. The dandelion opens up at six. About seven the water-lilies are awake. Many little flowers that sleep near the ground are showing their best features by eight o’clock. The marigold and the tulip will usually be in full dress at nine. The “star of Bethlehem” shuts up at eleven, while most of the day flowers are making their best show. Noon is the choice hour for sweet peas and passion flowers. Two in the afternoon will find wild daisies the brightest. Then come the “four-o’clocks.” An hour later the “beauty-of-the-night” has blown. At six the evening primrose appears, followed by some of the same family at a later hour. Some flowers bloom only in the night. Perhaps every hour of the day and night has been selected by nature for a fresh display of her beauty. Plants sometimes have freaks, and bloom out of their regular season. Through every plant God is speaking, and each several class is designed to set in vibration some particular chord of man’s best nature. Of the multiplicity of things which God does, the psalmist exclaims, “O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all; the earth is full of Thy riches.” Ps. 104:24. Life in the vegetable kingdom may be studied through several thousand forms and sizes. There are plants too small to be seen without the aid of the microscope. Beginning with these minute forms of life, every integral niche of the whole scale, or measure, is occupied by some plant, each exceeding the one before it in size, until the dimension of the largest tree is attained. One very interesting element of plant life is color. Green is the great body hue for foliage. There are many exceptions to this rule, but the variation is found almost wholly among plants which make little display in their bloom, and which do not propagate through seed. The Creator has adapted color in plants to the restfulness and entertainment of the optical sense in animals. Green, being the groundwork, gives to the eye rest and comfort. The variegated and brighter hues give it delight, and at the same time serve as guides and signs to the insects that God has appointed to fertilize every plant after its kind. The Creator has placed the food for these little creatures among the petals and the pollen of the flowers. Every flying or creeping bug and insect is taught of the Lord where to find4the dish or cup which it relishes most. They are guided day and night by the vision that God has given them. The color and the fragrance in the flowers are invitations to the table which Providence has spread for their benefit. These insects usually visit a number of flowers while satisfying their appetite, eating but one variety of food at a time. The Lord has taught them not to pollute the vegetable kingdom by promiscuous visiting. A great variety in color is also seen among the seeds and the fruits of plants. These variations are not only interesting, but they are useful in making selections. The Saviour says, “the tree is known by its fruit;” but fruit is usually selected by its form and color. There must be some distinguishing features for every product. Color bears an important part in labeling nature’s goods. Color does not make a blunder. It never upsets its cup, nor drops its brush. The right tinge is put in the appointed place. The lily gets its white; the tulip receives its complement in stripes; the buttercup is given its gold; the violet secures its blue; while the roses are profusely painted in various shades of pink, of orange, of white, and of red, but never of blue.