Litchfield enquirer., 1874-09-24
The sleep and odo9r odai9r of tsIIs FIessess. ~ s

The sleep and odor of Blowers.
 Sir John Lubbock, pssaatains before the British Association; coiicefnihg the sferti- ization of flowers by insects, <, said:
 Everybody, however, has observed that
 even i'll fine weather certain flowers close at particular hours. The habit of going to sleep is surely very curious. Why Rhould flowers do SO? In animals VIC can under stand 1t; they are tired and require rest.
 But why should flowers do so? Why should some flowers do SO and not others? Moreover, different flowers keep different
 hours.. The daisy opens at sunrise and | closes at sunset, whence it's name, days eye; the dandelion (leontodon tararacuna) opens at 2 and closes at 5; 0Ten0rio Tstbra is open from 9 to 3; ear hawkweed (bier-
 Gctune 11ilOselt0) is said to wake at 8 and go to sleep at 2; the scarlet pimpernel (an- Gy0LLiS GTVenSSs) to wake at and close soon after 2; while trOgOpOgO1s 1)TdtenSis opens at in tho morning and closes just
 before 12, whence it's English name John l go-tO-Bed-a -Noon.' Farmer boys in some parts are said to regulate their dinner hour by it. Other flowers, on the con trary, open in the evening. Now, it is ob- vious that flowers which are fertilized by night flying insects would derive no ad- vantage from being open by day; on the other hand, those which are fertilized, by bees would gain nothing by being open at night-nay, it would render them liable to be robbed of their honey and pollen by insects which were not capable of fertiliz- ing them. He believed, then, that the closing of flowers had reference to the habits of insects. He observed; also, in support of this that wind -fertilized flowers never sleep, that some of those flowers which attract insects by smell emit their scent at particular hours, then VeSpriS neGtrOTGLis and lycki91s Ve0pertigaa smells ln the evening and OrchiS 6ipoli0 is parti- cularily sweet at night. He had been, he said, good humoredly accused of attack I ing the little busy bee, because ho had at- l tempted to show that it does not possess | all the high qualities which have been popularly and poetically ascribed to it, but if scientific observations do not al- l together support the intellectual eminence l which has been ascribed to bees, they have made known to us in the economy of the hive many various peculiarities which no poet had ever dreamt of, and
 have shown that bees and other insects | have an importance as regards flowers which had been previously unsuspected
 To these we owe the beauties of our gard | cAAoV UA4G SW60bucSS OI our u0lQSs 10 them flowers owe their scent and color-nay, their very existence in it's present form. Not | only have their brilliant colors, the sweet l scent and the honey of flowers been grad ually developed by unconscious selection l of insects, but the very arrangement of l the colors, the circular bonds, and radiat- ! ing lines, the form, size and position of ! the petals, the arrangement of the sta mems and plstil are all arranged with refer ence to the visits of insects and in such a | manner as to insure the grand object which renders these visits necessary. In conclusion, he observed that while he had attempted to point out relations which l exist between insects and some of our common wild flowers, the whole subject is one which will repay most careful atten- tion, for, as Muller has very truly said, there is no single species the whole his tory of which is yet by any means thor
 oughly known to us." | .l ''r". 1 CHILD LIFE IN SHAKERDoM.- that are placed with the Shakers at Leb- 1 anon are lndentured to Beniamin Gates, or some authority until they "become of age" he agreeing in the papers to provide them food, clothing, etc. They arc then placed in the "children's order," under the charge of sisters designated to care ! for them, and they commence at once to instil into their minds the glories of the | creed. In their management never a | blow is struck. Refractory ones are pun | ished by being laid fat upon the floor, face down. When they have been kept thus prostrate for length of time, they arc taken mp and talked to-" the enormi- ty of their offences pointed out, and are exhorted to behave better in the future
 Those from eight to dozen years of age ''go to confession" every Saturday, and town up," tor are supposed to) to the lit- | tie sins of the week that have escaped the notice of their guardians. And as they | receive special approval after an apparent ly very full confession, they early learn to conjure up quite enormous stories, know ing that they can ''gull" their confessors into 8 deeper belief of their penitence
 ''Now don't you feel better after confess I ing all that?" asks the ancient virgin who has heard the story. ''Yea, yea" says the little miss, and tipping a wink to her companions she walks out as sedately as spinister of seventy. Another method of punishment is to put the youngster into large sack, tying it lightly around tho neck. Should the child refuse to get into the bag it IS drawn over the refractory one, and then, head, feet, and all envel- oped, he or she is left to repent of the offensive disobedience. - ....
 The children are sent to school four months each year-the boys in tho winter and the girls in the summer Co-educa- tiOn hasn't the slightest support here The girls and boys must not converse to- gether. If they happen to meet, and if & roguish youth is bold enough to break si- fence with some pretty maiden, the maid en must be deaf and dumb to him. 'Isnt there some boy here that you are just 8 little fonder of than others?" Is a stand ing question in the confessional The re- ply always is 'fNay," and the bllnd old goodies believe it !-Pittsfeld EGgIe.
 The staid N. Y. Observer is responsible for the story that Mir. Stone well-known and excellent Christian gentleman, be- longing to one of the Murray Hill church. es ill New York city, was up in the coun- try in the summer. and learning that an evening prayer-meeting was in progress at the village church, walked in and took seat in the back part of the room. The brother in the chair conducting tho meet ing, observing the stranger, left his seat and coming to MT. Stone said to him :
 "What is your name?.' ,t.L
 My name is Stone. ..-.-..-..
 "Where are you from ?"
 "I am from the city of New York"
 'Are you one of the Lords people ?''
 "I hope that am, 1" answered MT, Stone. with becoming humility.
 The leader, satisfied with the answers to his catechism, returned to his elevated seat, and at the end of the hymn arose and said