The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-10-29

Till snddenly drumming
From the gravel walk sruss.
hope triumphant filled her,
ana clear the words that thrilled heP1
Look here you Jane Matilda, aESitA
Come and knuckls them ~ elothasls
Wonders Of Plants and FIowers-
Most Of the flowers slecp during tho
night. The marigold GOES to bed With
the sun: Many plants are SO sensitive
that their leaves close during the passage
OF cloud. The dandelion opens at ive
or Six in the morning. and shuts a, nine
IN the evening, the daisy opens its day's
eye to meet the early beams of the morn
ing sun. The ivy-leaved lettuce opens
at eight in the morning and closes fer
| ever ut tour Ill the afternoon. The night.
nowe1ing cereus turns night into day.
1t begins to expand its magnificent sweet
scented blossoms in the twilight, it is in
full bloom ut midnight, and closes for
ever at the dawn of day. In u clover
field not = leaf is open un til after sunrise.
There are some plants tnst may be used
as weather prophets. The pimp.1nel
spreads its leaves at the end IF wet
weather, while the different species of
clover contract theirs. If the chickweed
droops and its flowers are not open,
there is rain in prospect The CROW foot
anemone foretclls the coming of rain
by closing its blossoms; the anemonc
mcptaisa carries Its flower erect when
the weather Is fine, and dropping when
overcast. 1t will rain if the whitlow
grass lets its leaves hang dropping if
the galllum verum swells and exhales
strongly, also it the birch scents the air.
The sensitiveDess of plants to hight,
heat and moisture was made by Linnnus.
the great botanist, the basis of many ex-
perlments and observations, resulting in
the arrangement called his 'foral clock"
1t is q curious fact that there are twenty
four varieties OF plants whose blossoms
open successfully at the different hours of
day an. night. The flowers of the water
lily close and sink into the water precise
~ at sunset, rise again to the surface
: and expand with sunrise. Pliny de-
scribed the lotus of the Euphrates, which
followed the same order; and the rever-
ence which was paid to the lotus by the
Egyptians is supposed by some t. be from
this association with tho sacred sun.
Flowers and fruits of the lotus arc en-
graved on Eastern tombs and monuments,
and adorn the heads of their scul ptured
deities. Besides the s'foral clock" there
is floral calender, in which each month
Is marked by It's own loval flower
1t is we'll tnown that plants sleep at
night; but their hours of sleeping are q
matter of habit, and may lie disturbed
artlficially, just as lock may be walked
up to crow at an untimely hour by the
light Of a lantern A French chemist
subjected sensitive plant to an exceed
ingIy 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 is leaves IT.
regularly, sometimes noddipg in spite of
the artificial sun that shed its beams at
midnight, and sometimes waking up,
from force of habit, to find the chamber
dark in spite OF the time of day. Such
are the trammeis Of use and won't But,
after an obvious struggle, the plant sub
mitted to the change, and accepted the
night for the day WITHOUT any apparent
ill effects.
We notice that an italian chemist has
recently made some experiments which
have resulted in the discovery that vege-
table perfumes exercise positively
healthfnl influence upon the atmosphere
by converting its oxygen into ozone, and
thus increasing its oxidizing influences.
The essences found to deveiope the largest
quantity Of ozone are those If the cherry,
laurel, clover, lavender, mint, juniper,
lemon, fenncl and bergamot; those that
give smaller quantities are anise, nut
meg and thyme. Flowers destitute Of
perfume do not develore ozone, and those
which have but slight perfume develope
it only in small quantities. Reasoning
from these facts, the professor recon-
mends the cultivation If flowers in
marshy districts and in all places in
tested with animal emanations, on ac-
count of the powerful exidizing influ-
cnce of ozone. The inhabitants Of such
regions should, he says. surround their
houses with beds of the most odorous
flowers. There is a mystery about per-
fume. It eludes the must subtle analy-
sis. So fine, so subtle, so imponderablc,
it has eluded our most delicate measures
and our strongest lenses. If we could
come to the essence Of each odor
we would make an enormous stride in
hygiene and In chemistry, and no pro-
fession would profit So much by it rs the
medical profession if 1t could he conciu-
sivcly demonstrated that such cause, as
we already know of sulphur, sulpuurate-
hydrogen, ammonia and the like.
Mr.. HoRATIo SEYMOUR writes to the
citizens of Aurora, greatly regretting that
he could not take part in the celebration
along the line of sullivans march, as one
Of his grandfathers was an officer in .
New Jersey regiment which was engaged
in the campaign against the Iroquois.
He adds: ut is no small gam to tho
people of New York to be taught that
they have history surprising that of all
other sections of cur country in its influ-
ence upon the civilization, government
and customs of our people.
A man from New jersey, recently ON