The Romance of Plant Life

es in Africa-Spring passing from Italy to the frozen North-Life in the Arctic-Dwarfs-Snow-melting

ifficult to explain the sort of life and

ely that they enjoy fine weather in summer and g

s. Even the few explanations which have been given by

as been experimented with, and fought over and argued about by bo

ntains enormous quantities of food-stores, for the whole season's work of the leaves has been accumulating until this moment. During the long wi

has ended, preparations are beginning for the great moment of the year. For weeks there is a slow, gradual, almost imperceptible growth of the buds, then they develop with a rush, and in six to ten days double or treble their weight. Then comes the supreme moment, for the flower-buds sud

m being the truth. The petals are actively, vigorously working. If one could take the pulse of a petal, which shows the rapidity of its breathing, one would find that it is twice as fast as that of the leaf. The wo

s matched by the hurrying crowds of excited and ex

of their great and famous war, invited the whole cabinet

nderwood & Underwoo

n Kamaido

rk. Day after day an endless stream of food is entering the stem; night after night it is condensed and

nly possible within well-defined limits. It is no use trying to force it to bloom before January. It must have a quiet time after summ

ve to work when they upset the ordinary course of Nature's events. The

a

ature.

erat

48°-50° F

50°-53° F.

53°-59° F

ng 59°-64° F

od 46°-53° F.(

ing 59°-64°

of stone 53°-59°

t of stone 61°-6

ruit 68°-70°

ttle judicious cold, is necessary to get

the cherry, but it must not be supposed that they are al

burst into tears. These are about the 22nd March, 24th May, 15th August, and 21st November; yet there are enough odd flowers blooming in almost every month to give some cause for the saying, "The gorse is out of bloom when kissing is out of favour." The last

seeds can be formed whenever there is a spell of favourable weather. Now one chickweed can produce 3000 seeds. Suppose that there are only five ge

It is on record that forty-four spring species bloomed in one warm November. At the Cape and in other war

onette by pinching off the flower-buds,

heir blooming time if they find it convenient to do so. In the Mediterranean some blossom in ea

loud of smoke, and soon one comes to a line of flame. It is not dangerous, not even very impressive, for a jump of three feet carries you over the flame and on to a desolate wilderness of black cinders, out of

, but certainly it is good for the flowers, wh

breath of spring wakes up the bulbs and buds, an

e North Pole at an averag

e way, it would be quite possible to do so without exceeding an ordinary day's march. He would have to reach North Germany by

possible undertaking. It would be very interesting, for he would be able to watch the cold and frost and chilli

t is truly set in the mids

-point. About the end of May it begins to rise a little, but the plant has to crowd

August. The flowers are brilliant in colour and richly produced. The tiny dwarf Arctic plants are covered all over with blue or golde

uits remain chilled and incapable of life

nts cannot become trees or shrubs. To show the effect of the climate

ritain.

c Reg

tw

dora) 6 in. to

den

rgaurea) 1-2

Ra

lustris)? 6 in.

gw

lgaris) 2 to

low

alustris) 1

of Par

ustris) 6 in.

ve pretty long lives, and, as we have said, deck

It is often not more than six weeks, yet in that short time the rich blue of the Gentian, the Alpine Roses, Soldanell

lowers of the Soldanella swaying to and fro in the wind above the unmelted snow. One does occasionally see

. It has already been mentioned that, inside a flower, the temperature is often higher than the surrounding air. It is this higher temperature of the flower which thaws a little dome or grotto in the snow above the head of the flower.[44] When a flock of

mountains as the Alps, and yet we find on the Scotc

ies and corries high up on the Highland hills, and which also occur on the sea-coast, but never between the seashore and the tops of the mountains. You might searc

hould be the case. But all those three plants are found in the

he hills and mountains; huge glaciers occupied the valleys and flowed over the lowlands, plastering the

hatched hills," Lincolnshire and Yorkshire must have been like the Antarctic region

ock and ice.... Gravel and pebbles were heaped up in mounds and ridges. In some places these ridges coalesced so as to form basin-shaped hollows. B

late when these hardy little Arctic plants colonized

has remained ever since on the seashore of Great Britain; another set gradually travelled northwards. As the ice melted away, leaving the land bare, first in Denmark, then in Norway, and fi

ere they find themselves in an impossible, savage sort of climate, in which they alone are able to exist. Violent storms, drenching mist, scorching sunshine (when the rocks become so hot that it is almost impossible to touch them), rainstorms and months of snow and hard frost, cannot k

80 feet in Breadalbane, are mere dwarfs only a few inches high, and totally different

ons have not even been able to survive by the seaside in Grea

rally low-growing mats. They are also often clothed all over in cottonwool, such as the Edelweiss. This probably keeps th

nts, they have rich, dee

stence that it is extremely difficult to grow them in a garden. Like mountaineers

like natural crevices and basins, between them. Rich leaf-mould must be placed in th