The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-31
By Miss ID. r. Andrews.

By Miss E. Y. Andrews.
 In reply to a request of Miss An- drews for privilege of publishing the lecture she delivered recently before the Paul Hayne Society of the Girls High School. she writes to Mrs. Clark as follows:
 You asked for a copy of my ad- dress for the flower column in Sum day's paper, but as 1t would be too long to give entire, even If copld remember 1t all, send you few ex- tracts containing the substance of a part of my remarks. As never write down beforehand anything that l have to say, and have not even a stray note or the scratch of pen to help my memory. I cannot vouch for the en- tire accuracy of this attempt at re- production but 1t represents at least some Of the things that I intended to say.
 occasion was due more to the beauti- full specimens furnished by you, and those that was enabled to collect by the kind aid of MT. and Mrs. c. " son, and of Mrs. Durr and Mrs. Owen. than to any efforts of my own, and 1T any good has been accomplished. 1t belongs more to you and them than to me-"
 The extracts are:
 Have you ever thought to ask why it is that the flowers take the trouble and expense---for great expense or vital energy it is--to array themselves in all this beauty? They don't take all this pains for nothing, you may be sure, any more than you would trouble yourself to dress up in that pretty Easter bonnet and new spring gown or yours to sit hidden away all day in the back parlor. Poets don't often make mistakes, but Gray made one when he wrote:e
 Full many a flower is born to blush And waste it's sweetness on the desert
 air.
 That sweetness is never wasted sand that gorgeous raiment never fails to meet the eyes for which it was intend- ed, though our grosser human sight may never rest upon 1t. These shrewd little couuettes understand their busi- ness better than that. and whenever you see one of them conspicuous Tor beauty or fragrance, you may be per- fectly sure that 1t Is laying itsen out to please the fastidious tastes of the dainty winged creatures whose atten- tions 1t covets. It may seem very prosaic thought, but the perfume of the jessamine and the beauty of the rhododendron is simply a notice to some hungry bee or butterfly that din- ner is ready.
 "Of course. you do not need to be told of the important part played by insects in the life of plants. Investi- gators like Darwin and Burbank have found that most flowers produce much finer fruit and seeds when dusted with pollen from a different individual of the same species. and hence those be- longing to the higher order of plants have developed, in the course of their evolution, floral structure which makes 1t impossible for the pollen to reach the seed vessel without external agency. The most important agency in this work is found In visits of inc sects In their search for honey. Not only have all the attentions of color and fragrance that we find in flowers been developed for this purpose but a thousand special contrivances so tn- genious and effective that they seem like the inventions of an intelligent brain.
 "in fact. no designing old match maker was ever half so fruitful in de- vices for entrapping the unwary or the other sex as these artfui coquettes in beguiling the dainty-wfnged crea- lures that they inveigle into powder ing their pretty faces for them, and bearing their messages to distant friends. But they give full value for the services rendered. Sweetness, beauty. fragrance, are no mean rewards for even the swiftest of winged mes- sengers.
 Unfortunately, flowers, like people, sometimes get into bad company, and, like people. are corrupted by it. Here for instance Is an, exquisite little vine belonging to the smilax family that YOU would never suspect of such prac- tices. but 1t has formed the habit of de- pending on flesh, flies and scavenger beetles to act as pollen bearers. and in order to attract these filthy creatures. fla flowers have developed vile odor that has obtained for it the appro- priate name of 'carrion nower'