The Opelousas courier., 1901-03-16
LlKENEssES IN FLOWERS,
The Shapes of Some of Them Suggest
Certain Animals,

DukSVBA
Certain Animals.
Did YOU ever BEE q field of wild
farkspur, with its rich colors-violet-
purple, deep blue and white? In the
centre OF each blossom the four petals
form a little rabbit. with ears alert
and listening. The white rabbit is
especially pretty, and no one can fail
to notice the odd likeness to the ami
NAL form. The colored leaves, which
seem to be a part Of the flowers are
really the sepals of the calyx.
You can also find a lark In the 1ow-
er by pulling off all the sepals ex.
cept two. which are left for the birds
o~utspread wings. The long spur, which
runs backward. is the tapering body
n long tail of the lark. When /
was a child 1t was great pleasure to
see my hidden bird appear as the IN
necessary sepals were removed and
1t was just in the graceful act of
flight from the stem!
Another flower Of the same family,
the wild columbine. takes It's nam
from columbia. a dove on account of
the likeness Of the bright petals to a
group Of doves surrounding a water
bowl. AS soon as the colored petals
are removed this likeness is very OBJ
Vious.
The snap dragon. one of the charm
ing hgwortS. Ia another delightful
flower to a child. because he can open
the gaping jaws of the dragons mouth
and see It's furry tongue, and the spots
n blotches Of color rsmiud him Of
the lsoDard's spots ana the tigers
stripes. The beard tongue. with its
swollen throat IL one Of the same
grotesque group. The money flower
has only to show its odd. grinning
blossom to explain Ito Latin name,
which means q little JOKER" or
clown-mimulus.
By the way, the pretty gold and pur-
pie pansies display queer little monk
ey faces In their open flowers. which
seem to nod and grimace with every
passing breeze. The turtlehead Is
named from its blossom. shaped like
q turtles head with closed mouth"
This, too. is wholly beared in the
throat" which adds to its general
Queerness of look. The foxglove
sounds like q German fairy tale. with
Master Reynard c~oncealing his paw in
an elf-made glove. The monks hood
also suggests q story, q bad one for
the monks. for if you look well IN
der the dark blue hood or cowl made
by the calyx you will discover. cum
nipgly hid. two GRinutive hammer
like claws. the only petals this flow
er possesses.
The prettiest blossoms that mimic
life are the bee. butterfly and the dove
orchids, and the charming moth-mul-
leins. clustered thickly with exquisite
purple or canary yellow. moth-shaped
flowers, ready to fly. They carry
violet wool to keep the inside dry
from rain. and this rich tint, with the
orange pollen. makes the central part
Of the blossoms as gay as a tropical
butterfly.
The mouse-ear and the dandelion
(the lions TOOTH and the ragged rob-
in also suggest animal Hkenesses and
associations, and many plants have
seed vessels that are shaped like the
beak and the spurred foot Of a bird,
as the hook-beaked crowfoot, the
cranesbfll or seranium, from q Latin
word for crane. and many others.
Like children. the early observers Of
nature delighted In odd r~esemblances,
and made a kind of fairy story Of
their imperfect STANDARDIZATION Her.
aid.