The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-12
way, though the children always love TO
find them. as they are not so common.
NEAR BROAD RIPPLE.

nnd them. as they are not 50 common.
NEAR BROAD RIPPLE.
At Broad Ripple and in the woods to the
north the wild flowers come earlier than
anywhere else near Indianapolis. AS long
ago as the second week in March few
violets were to be found blooming beneath
the sheltered tangle of trees and under
brush on the first little island to the right
as one rows up the river from the park.
This place was at that time carpeted with
pretty white flowers, born in a small ter
minal clusters on long stems, called tooth
worths' OF 'crinkJeroots." They belong to
the mustard family and have a pleasant,
pungent odor. A wildfiower TO be found
everywhere at Broad Ripple at the present
time is the ''Dutchman's breeches. Every
one is familiar with this little yellow and
white, odd-shaped blossom and with its
fine, fern-like leaves Dutchman's breeches
are the poor country relatives OF the
snowy bleeding hearts" that grow in the
well-kept gardens of the town. Another
poor rustic relation Is the 'Jack-in-the-pul-
pit" which is now to be found in the woods
near the city. Few people know that this
green and brown-striped. lily-shaped flower
is connected with the stately calla-lily.
Unlike It's elegant relative. Jack" prefers
a shaded woods with his toes planted firmly
in the soft. wet earth. He is much like the
calla-lily, although he is curled into sort
of cornucopia and one corner droops over
the column, so that Jack has a sounding
stand in But in spite of his clerical atti-
tude and his surroundings. he is by no
means above reproach. and the pulpit. how
toll To-. xfxrror I'd
but a trap for the detention and ultimate
destruction of guileless and hapless flies
Just take Jack out of bis pulpit and
see what he is like You will find that he
or 1t is a glossy column supported by
short and tender stalk. Around the base or
the column in this flower there are num-
Der of green pistils growing close together
in a broad. compact ring. Just above these
In one jack out Of a dozen you Will dis
cover a few round white flowers with no
filaments to speak of, but most likely the
stamens will be found deep down inside
another arum, growing, perhaps at some
distance from the first. In her wonder
fully accurate little book on wild flowers,
Maude Going says that when the anthers
of the Jack-in-t he-pulpit ripen and open
they shed a mealy pollen. which drops TO
the pulpit floor. "But 1t Is utterly use
less here" she goes on to say. while the
green pistils shut up In the other pulpit
need 1t sorely and cannot mature without
its aid.
EMPLOYED AS MESSENGER.
$50 the Jack that has the pollen sends
some to the Jack that wants IL, and gnat
or a marsh fly is employed as a messenger
In almost every staminate arum are two or
three small insects. They are destined to
a career of usefulness, though they have
not come In with the least idea of seeking
employment They have crawled in to
look for honey or because the overhanging
leaf. like a green tent, shelters them from
rain and wind, and once in they cannot
get out There is no room in the narrow
space between the central column and the
Unfolding leaf for fly to spread his wings,
and after he has tried the experiment sev-
eral times only to tumble back with
bumped head he attempts to crawl out
But this is impossible also. The inside of
the pulpit is as smooth and as slippery as
ice and he can get no foothold on the shin
ing inner walls of the arum. Among the
stamens he can find a little honey-dainty
fare for a prisoner. This keeps him alive
ripen and open and the imprisoned flies are
thickly busted with pollen. Now they have
received what they are to deliver and they
may go. They suddenly find that there is
door in their jail and ii stands ajar so
they can slip out. Before the pollen is
rubbed off the flies seem to conclude that
after all it is a good thing to have a roof
overhead, and they again seek shelter in
an arum. II this chances to be one con-
tanning the undeveloped berries they are
welcome guests. for they come bringing
the very quickening powder which the
flower needs"
At Brookside Park there are very few
varieties of wild flowers, probably because
all of the land inside the parks boundary
lines was formerly used as pasture
There are some violets to be found grow
ing along the banks of the stream that
flows through the park. Garfield Park has
few varieties of wild flowers, among
which are many violets. while Riverside.
Fairview and especially Broad Ripple
parks seem to abound in all kinds of the
blossoms of the springtime.