The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-05-04

slips back into dowdiness for yet an
other day, During these two nights
the flower has been busy shedding It's
yellow pollen dust for the benefit OF It's
neiEhbors. and so far has done nothing
TO benefit itself: but on the one night
yet left to N IL pushes out three little
columns To catch the yellow dust that
some insect visitor may bring from n
one or two-night odd flower. and. with
little luck. IL receives the magic
touch which fertil.zes its seeds. and
enables IL To transmit descenda nts To
posterity. And now It's work In I'm
ished. and at day dawn II closes for
the lase time and fades away and dies,
All the worlds stage, even In plant
life.
But none Of the flowers yet men,
TONED can compete I'm beauty with
the queen OF the night. a cactus that
flowers at night time on the plains OF
Mexico. This has magnificent yell
low and white bloom. and IL stands out
.bravely. even brilliantly. from the black
earth and the dark green spines which
form the background. But it's glory
In short lived. for despite the fact that
u IL often eight inches across and has
more than hundred petals. It's life II
mo- sooner begun than IL In ended. IL
never sees the light. for. though IL may
not open until 10 o'clock at night. It's
career Is finished four ar five hours
later In the small hours of the morn
ing
After the Night Moths.
Now. when we come In ask why Ger
tain plants choose the darkness rather
than the light Ia bring out their How
ers. We must answer that II II because
they have preferred To- make - bid for
the attentions OF the night moths and
the night files rather than for the
more keenly contested visits OF the
bees and butterflies OF the day. by
some means or other they must get
their nollen carried from flower tn flow
er. and they have found that the night
insects are quite as capable ia this way
as the day ones are, and have not near
~ so many claims upon them. but be-
cause the darkness II apt To swallow
up the plants the night flowers make a
great point OF their scene. and the
strong. sweet fragrance In an unfailing
telltale OF their presence. no matter
hOg black the night. curiousiy enough
the manage To turn on the scent In
the daytime. 40 that IL In not wasted
for plant L. nothing II not economical.
Further. to make an much OF their
presence az possible these flowers are
almost invariably white or pale yell
low In color. aud so in the dusk they
are strikingly obvious long after darker
and more gorgeous hued flowers have
iAappeared from sisht. Through the
night they are generally visible tn some
extent. even to US. and doubtless to the
night-hying insects. whose organs of
sight are specially adapted To the dark
ness. they stand out still more plainly.
Almost the only dark colorei night
flower We know In the common hcsperis,
or DANES violet. but--though the even
Ing quickly obliterates it's dark purple
blossoms. as IL does all deep-hued now
ers-lRck OF briiliancy IL made up for
by strength OF fragrance. fo- it's scent
IL 90 peculiarly strong that It's presence
cannot but he revealed. Observation
shows that II gets It's full share az WISH
tors among the moths. and hence,
though Il makes no bid to attract
through the agency OF sight. It's appeal
II made land not made In vainJ through
the organ Of smell.
one other fact about these plants In
Interesting. on the petals az the night
flowers we never find those markings.
streaks and lines which usually EN-
bellish ordinary flowers and are so evi-
dent In pansies. mallows and waliow-
ers. These markings are known aa
''pathfinders." and they are presum-
ably placed there 10 serve aE guides To
Insects In their search for honey. az
they always point to the heart ~ the
blossom. Hut they would he 81 no
earthly use In the night time. az they
could not be seen: hence In night now
ers they are not produced and the
petals show only an unbroken white or
yellow face. Thus In the flowers ~ the
night We have yet one more instance OF
natures wonderful and absolute adapt
ability of structure to environment.