Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1880-01-31
Wonders Of Plants and Flowers.


that their leaves close during the passage
of a cloud. The dandelion opens at 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-leavcd let
tuce opens at eight i'm the morning and
closes forever at four in the afternoon.
The night Towering cereus turns night
into day. II begins to expand its mag
nificent sweet-scented blossoms in the
twilight, it is in full bloom at midnight,
and closes forever at the dawn of day.
In clover field not a leaf is open until
after sunrise. There are some plants
that may be used as weather prophets.
The pimpernel spreads its leaves at the
end of wet weather, while the different
species of clover contract theirs. ii the
chickweed droops and its flowers are
not open, there is rain in prospect. The
crowfoot anemone foretells the coming
of rain by closing its blossoms; the
anemone mentaisa carries its flowers
erect when the weather is fine, and
dropping when overcast 1t will rais
if the whitlow grass lets its leaves hang
dropping, if the gallium ver,im swells
and exhales strongly, also if the birch
scents the air.
The sensitiveness of plants to light,
heat and moisture was made by Lin
ngus, the great botanist, the basis of
many experiments and observations,
resulting in the arrangement called his
floral clock" IL is curious fact that
there are "a varieties of plants whose
blossoms open successfully at the differ
ent hours of the day and night. The
flowers of the water lily close and sink
into the water precisely st sunset, rise
again to the surface and expand with
sunrise. Pliny described the lotus of
the Euphrates, which followed the same
order; and the reverence which was
paid to the lotus by the Egyptians is
supposed by some TO he from this asso-
citation with the sacred sun. Flowers
and fruits of the lotus are engraved on
Eastern tombs and monuments, and
adorn the heads of their sculptured DEF
ties. Besides the " floral clock" there
is floral calendar, in which each month
is marked by its own loyal flower.
II is well known that plants sleep at
night; but their hours of sleeping are
matter of habit, and may be disturbed
ariificially, just rs Il cock may be walked
up TO crow at an untimely hour by the
light of a lantern. A French chemist
subjected a sensitive plant TO an exceed
ingly trying course of discipline, by
completely changing its hours-eXpos-
ing it to a bright light at night, and
putting it in dark room during the
day. The plant appeared to be much
puzzled at first. Ii opened and closed
its leaves irregularly, sometimes nod
ding in spite of the artificial sun that
shed its beams al midnight, and some
times waking up, from force of habit, to
find the chamber dark in spite of the
time of day. Such are the trammels
IF use and wont. But, after an
obvious struggle, the plant submit
ted 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 veg
eiable perfumes exercise 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 of ozone are those of
the cherry. laurel, clover, lavender,
mint, jumper, lemon, fennel and berga-
mot; those that give smaller quantities
are snise, nutmeg and thyme. Flowers
destitute of perfume do not develop
ozone, and those which have but slight
perfume develop it only in small quanti- 1
ties. Reasoning from these facts, the 1
Professor recommends the cultivation of .
flowers in marshy districts and in all
places infested with animal emanations,
on account of the powerful oxidizing in
fluences of ozone The inhabitants of