Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-10-05
Plants That Tell the Weather
BY W C. FITZGERALD.

Some flowers there are that care
nothing for the weather, Wet or fine,
hail or snow, hey make a brave
show. Such are the sweet-pea,
fuchsia, heather, hyacinth and others
of the bell flowers, But even a
casual glance at our fields will show
that many other flowers and plants
are by no means so Indifferent. Thus
a meadow that will be radiant with
flowers on a sunny day is utterly
transformed when the clouds are low
ering and torrents Of rain falling.
Nor is this change due to the pre-
vailing grayness of the day For If
you examine the meadow at close
quarters you will see that it is mainly
the flowers themselves that have
wrought the change. Many plants
have closed up their blooms and en-
tirely hidden all the gay petals.
others, again, have merely dropped
earthward, presenting only sombre
colored backs to the falling rain.
Much the same thing happens on
banks where in early summer the
little Stellaria shines forth like so
many stars from the brilliant green
background.
The moment bad weather comes
these stars disappear, and the bank
they adorned becomes dull and unin-
teresting. The pretty star of Beth
leham is equally sensitive and shows
or hides her sweet face just as the
weather alternates from bad to good,
and vice versa. On a fine day our
garden borders may be brilliant with
white stars, but the moment clouds
appear and the rain descends they
withdraw themselves and fold up
their little petals with anxious care.
The green sepals now close over
and form an impenetrable rain coat,
showing only a series of ragged-look-
ing plants, from whose painted leaves
and striped tapering buds the water
| trickles harmlessly.
The Eschscholtzias, too, are fair
weather" flowers, Haunting gorgeous
ly in the sunshine, but shrinking
from bad weather Let the day be
merely dull and they will not even
awake from the nights sleep, but
remain tightly closed. True, if morn
ing opens with promise they are lured
to unfold their orange petals, and
bask a little at breakfast time; but
should the day refuse to fulfill its
promise, the EsChsCholtzias calmly
wrap up their flowers with as much
care as a little girl does her dainty
muslin frock, fearing the slightest
wetting or the menance of lowering
clouds.
These folding processes are some
times simple enough, but when a long
spell of wet weather is threatened
each petal folds into a little twist
by itself, so that four small spiral
pyramids stand up on each flower
stalk, to face the downpour in per-
feet assurance.
Even the familiar daisy is we'll
known "barometer-plant." Does not
its yellow eye open out to sunny days
and close to duller ones? And its
! big, coarse brother, the dandelion,
seems to be just as sensitive. In the
case of the daisy, however, each head
is made up of many flowers, and it
is the petal rays of the strap-like
florets that wrap over and protect the
inner tubular stationary ones.
AS to the dwarf or carline thistle
so notorious are its faculties for in
dicating the weather that its dry
flower heads are actually used in GER
tain rural districts as weather gauges
When the sky is cloudless and the all
dry and clear, the flower-heads open
out boldly, with the dry scaly leaves
surrounding the inner flowers radiat'
ing all round with perfect confidence
But let the air grow humid, indicat'
ing that rain is not far off, and the
radiating ring rises to close dome
like in protection over the flowers
heart. | have often watched the
water running off this dome" just
as quickly as it does off any sloping
roof built with human hands.
In England the well-known little
scarlet pimpernel is called the poor
mans weather glass;" so quickly de
its little blossoms follow changes il
the weather by opening and closing
The pimpernel is quite wonderful!
reliable as weather prophet-fal
more so than many an expensive bar
ometer hanging in a rich man!
house.
This flower finds a living on thu
dryest and poorest waysides, and Il
perhaps the best known of all thu
barometer plants. Such composite
flowers as the chicory, nipple-wor
and marigold are also sensitive in thu
matter of weather, as also are sucl
bell flowers as the clustered and net
tle-leaved campanulas.
Opuntias, faxes, white magnolias
crocuses and stately water lilies ar
all infallible indications of weathe
to come. 1 am often asked what &C