 |
| Buttercups and Daisies, Oh! the pretty flowers, Coming ere the Springtime To tell of sunny hours. Mary Howitt. |
Does your Grandmother sing you that song? "Buttercups and daisies, Oh! the pretty flowers..." My Father sang it to me when I was a tiny girl. He had learned it from his Grandmother. For many years our people have been singing it to their children. They have sung it because they know that the children love these flowers. They are such friendly flowers. They are always willing to tell children what is good for them.
Hold a buttercup under your chin to see if you like butter. If a bright yellow light shines on your skin, that means that you do, like butter that is... Hold it again under your friend's chin. His skin will shine with a yellow light too. If you try it under the chins of your other playmates, I think you will find that they all like butter.
Mrs. Buttercup does not make the inside of her cup shiny just to help children find out what they like. No, indeed! She makes it bright so that she can get help in her life's work.
Her work is to make good seeds. She knows that she can make the best seeds if she can have some insect to help her. She is willing to pay well for help. She wears a pretty dress so as to attract the eye of the helper. She sets out a dish of honey to please its tongue. She makes the honey fragrant to please its nose.
Take a stem of Buttercups in your hand. Look at the open flower. The pretty colored part we call the corolla or crown. Each part of the corolla is called a petal. Count how many petals there are in the Buttercup's shining crown. Are there the same number of petals in the next Buttercup?
Now look at a bud. See the green covering it wears. We call this the "calyx'' or cup. It holds the corolla. See how the calyx is covered with fine hairs. Mrs. Buttercup puts them on to keep the baby flowers warm. She is as careful of her babies as your Mother is of your little Brother or Sister. Your Mother puts warm clothes on your family's baby when he goes out in the cold. Does she not? So Mrs. Buttercup has covered her calyx with soft hairs to keep her bud warm.
When the bud grows larger, the calyx opens into five parts. We call each of these parts of the calyx a "sepal." Is the sepal hairy inside? Does your Mother put fuzzy fabric against her baby's skin?
See how the sepals curve backward as they open. See how the petals are wrapped closely around each other. You see that the outside of the petal is not shining. It is a pale yellow.
Now look again at your open Buttercup. It shows the inside of the petal. Mrs. Buttercup has varnished the inside of her corolla. When the Buttercups open in a field, the sun shines right into their cups. The varnished inside throws back the sunshine brightly. You know your varnished school desk throws back a brighter light than does the dull floor.
This bright golden light flashes right into the eye of some insect who is searching for food.
"Gold! Gold! Gold!" she chuckles. "That means good food. I will go and get it."
Very soon she alights on a Buttercup.
"Good! Good!Good!," she murmurs contentedly.
"What a sweet smell. I must get to that smell."
Look at the Buttercup petal. See all the little fine lines leading down to the center. These are called ''honey paths." See where they end.
See that heavy little plate set right on the bottom of the petal. That is full of honey. Sometimes it is so full that it overflows. It is this honey which makes the buttercups smell sweet.
Mrs. Bug lights on the edge of a petal. She finds a ''honey path." Down she walks. Soon she is at the edge of the plate of honey, eating fast. Oh, isn't she glad she came? I just wish you could share her party.
Look at your Buttercup again. Inside the corolla, you see standing up many little stems, each with a tiny box on top. These stems we call ''stamens." The tiny boxes we call ''anthers."
Each anther is full of a golden powder, which is called "pollen."
As Mrs. Bug moves around at the bottom of the petals, sucking out the honey, she touches the stamens with her body. Then the anthers open and let the pollen fall over her. You can try it for yourself. Take a pin and jostle the lower parts of the stamens in a full grown Buttercup. The anthers will open and the pollen will fall out. You can play that you are a little Bug until you see how a buttercup works.
Hold a buttercup under your chin to see if you like butter. If a bright yellow light shines on your skin, that means that you do, like butter that is... Hold it again under your friend's chin. His skin will shine with a yellow light too. If you try it under the chins of your other playmates, I think you will find that they all like butter.
Mrs. Buttercup does not make the inside of her cup shiny just to help children find out what they like. No, indeed! She makes it bright so that she can get help in her life's work.
Her work is to make good seeds. She knows that she can make the best seeds if she can have some insect to help her. She is willing to pay well for help. She wears a pretty dress so as to attract the eye of the helper. She sets out a dish of honey to please its tongue. She makes the honey fragrant to please its nose.
Take a stem of Buttercups in your hand. Look at the open flower. The pretty colored part we call the corolla or crown. Each part of the corolla is called a petal. Count how many petals there are in the Buttercup's shining crown. Are there the same number of petals in the next Buttercup?
Now look at a bud. See the green covering it wears. We call this the "calyx'' or cup. It holds the corolla. See how the calyx is covered with fine hairs. Mrs. Buttercup puts them on to keep the baby flowers warm. She is as careful of her babies as your Mother is of your little Brother or Sister. Your Mother puts warm clothes on your family's baby when he goes out in the cold. Does she not? So Mrs. Buttercup has covered her calyx with soft hairs to keep her bud warm.
When the bud grows larger, the calyx opens into five parts. We call each of these parts of the calyx a "sepal." Is the sepal hairy inside? Does your Mother put fuzzy fabric against her baby's skin?
See how the sepals curve backward as they open. See how the petals are wrapped closely around each other. You see that the outside of the petal is not shining. It is a pale yellow.
Now look again at your open Buttercup. It shows the inside of the petal. Mrs. Buttercup has varnished the inside of her corolla. When the Buttercups open in a field, the sun shines right into their cups. The varnished inside throws back the sunshine brightly. You know your varnished school desk throws back a brighter light than does the dull floor.
This bright golden light flashes right into the eye of some insect who is searching for food.
"Gold! Gold! Gold!" she chuckles. "That means good food. I will go and get it."
Very soon she alights on a Buttercup.
"Good! Good!Good!," she murmurs contentedly.
"What a sweet smell. I must get to that smell."
Look at the Buttercup petal. See all the little fine lines leading down to the center. These are called ''honey paths." See where they end.
See that heavy little plate set right on the bottom of the petal. That is full of honey. Sometimes it is so full that it overflows. It is this honey which makes the buttercups smell sweet.
Mrs. Bug lights on the edge of a petal. She finds a ''honey path." Down she walks. Soon she is at the edge of the plate of honey, eating fast. Oh, isn't she glad she came? I just wish you could share her party.
Look at your Buttercup again. Inside the corolla, you see standing up many little stems, each with a tiny box on top. These stems we call ''stamens." The tiny boxes we call ''anthers."
Each anther is full of a golden powder, which is called "pollen."
As Mrs. Bug moves around at the bottom of the petals, sucking out the honey, she touches the stamens with her body. Then the anthers open and let the pollen fall over her. You can try it for yourself. Take a pin and jostle the lower parts of the stamens in a full grown Buttercup. The anthers will open and the pollen will fall out. You can play that you are a little Bug until you see how a buttercup works.
"Daisies & Buttercups Preprimary song
and lyrics by A Celebration of Life!
and
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your thoughts. All comments are moderated. Spam is not published. Have a good day!