Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-10-23
wenders Of Plants and Flowers.

MOST OF the howers sleep during the
night. The marieold goes TO bed
with the sun. Many plants are so SEN
sitive that their leaves close during the
passage of cloud. The dandelion opens
st five or six in the morning, and shuts
at nine in the evening, the daisy opens
its days eye to meet the early beams of
the morning sun. The ivy-leaved let
tuco opens at eight in the morning and
closes forever Mt four in the afternoon.
The night-flewering cereus turns night
into day. 1t begins to expand its magni-
cent sweet-sCentcd blossoms in the
twilight, il IL in full bloom mt midnight,
and closes forever at the dawn of day.
In clover field not leaf Is open until
after sunrise. There are some plants
that may be- used rs weather prophets.
Tho pimperncl spreads its leaves at the
end of wet weather, while the different
species of clover contract theirs. If the
chickwCed droops and its flowers are not
open, there is rain in prospect. The
Crowfoot anemone forctclls the coming
OF rain by closing its blossoms; the ane-
mono mcntaisa carries its flowers erect
when the weather is fine, and dropping
when overcast. 1t will rain if the whit
low grass let's its leaves hang dropping,
IL the gallium verum swclls and oNhalcs
strongly, also if the birch scents the air.
The scnsitiveness of plants to light,
heat and moisture was made by LinnTus
the great botanist. the basis of many
experiments and observations. resulting
in the arrangement called his floral
clock Ii is curious fact that there
are twenty-iour varieties of plants whose
blossoms open sucCessively ut the differ
ent hours of day and night. The flow
ers of the water lily close and sink inlo
the water precisely at sunset. rise again
10 the surface and expand with sunrise.
Pliny described the lotus of the Eu-
pirates, which followed the same order !;
and the reverence which was paid TO
the lotus by the Egyptians is supposed
by some to be from this association with
the sacred sun. Flowers and fruits of
the lotus are engraved on Eastern tombs
and monuments. and adoIn the heads of
their sculptured deities. Besides the
floral clock, there Is n floral calendar.
in which each month is marked by its
own loyaI flower.
1t is well known thai plants sleep at
night; but their hours of sleeping are Il
matter OF habit, and may be disturbed
artilicially, Just us n cock may be walked
up TO crow at an untimely hour by the
light of Il lantern. A French chemist
subjected n sensitive plant to an exceed
ingly trying course of discipline. by COM
pletely changing its hours, exposing it
To bright light at night, and putting it
in dark room during the day. The
plant appeared to be much puzzled at
first. 1t opened and closed its leaves ir
regularly, sometimes nodding in spite Of
the artificial! sun that shed its beams Mt
midnight, and sometimes waking up,
from force of habit, to find the chamber
dark in spite of the time of day. Such
are the trammels of use and wont But,
after an obvious struggle. the plant sub
mitted 10 the change, and accepted the
night for the day without any apparent
i'll effects.
We notice that an Italian chemist has
recently made some experiments which
have resulted in the discovery that vege-
table perfumes exercise n positively
healthful influence upon the atmosphere
by converting its oxygen into ozone, and
thus increasing its oxidizing influences.
The essences found to develop the largest
quantity ofozone are those ofthc cherry.
laurel, clover, lavender. mint. juniper,
lemon, fennel and bergaiuot: those that
give smaller quantities are anise, nut
meg and thyme. Flowers destitute of
perfume do not develop ozone. and those
which have but slight perfume develop
from these facts. the professor recon-
mends the cultivation of flowers in
marshy districts and in all places in
Tested with animal emanations. on ac-
count of the powerful oxidizing infu-
ence of ozone. The inhabitants Of such
regions should, be says, surround their
houses with beds of the most odorous
flowers. There is n mystery about per-
fume. IL eludes the most subtle analy.
sis. So fine, so subtle, so imponderable,
it has cluded our most delicate measures
and our strongest lenses. If we could
come to the essence of each 'odor we
would make nm enormous stride in hy-
giene and in chemistry. and no profession
would profit so much by it as the med,
cal profession If it could he conclusively
demonstrated that such an odor pro-
oeeded from such and such cause. as
we already know OF sulphur, sulphurate-
hydrogen. ammonia, and he like. IN
damn Ms fir,lni