We have far from exhausted all the beautiful and interesting points in the make-up of a Bumble Bee, not even those that may be seen with the limited powers of a simple microscope; but probably enough has been said to show the reader that such things are well worthy of study and it is hoped that enough directions have been given to render future use of the instruments comparatively free from difficulty.
XV.—SOME LITTLE THINGS TO SEE.
There is no end to the beautiful and wonderful things one can see with the simple microscope. Only a few of the more attractive and easily obtained of these are now to be mentioned.
To begin with, there are ever so many pretty flowers to look at. The asterworts, that is, such flowers as the daisy, aster, golden rod, dandelion and thistle, are particularly full of beauty. The blossoms are all made up of a number of little flowers as in the dandelion; but the shapes and colors and so forth, of the different kinds are exceedingly various. Some, such as the asters and daisies, have two kinds of flowers in the same blossom—flowers with strap-shaped corollas (like the dandelion's) are arranged along the margin of the blossom, while in the centre are little flowers with star-shaped corollas presenting a much different appearance. Flowers of many of the Parsley Family, for example wild carrot, wild parsnip and caraway, are quite odd. Very pretty flowers are found among the grasses, sedges and common weeds. The different trees as they bloom in spring—the maples, elms, willows, poplars, sassafras and hosts of others—all have flowers that are perfectly lovely. Most of these flowers need to be picked to pieces under the magnifier to show up their full beauty. The parts of flowers, both small and large ones, deserve attention. Frequently one meets with remarkable forms.
Seeds are highly interesting. They are often handsomely marked with series of pits or projections, grooves or ridges. One meets with many curious appendages by means of which the seeds are carried off and sown at a distance from the plant. Some, like the dandelion, have a parachute attachment; others have wings to catch the wind, and others still are covered with hooked spines whereby they become attached to the fur of animals, there to remain until brushed off onto the ground.
Leaves and stems sometimes have on them beautiful hairs and oil-glands. The wooly covering of common mullein, for example, is made up of innumerable slender-branched hairs. These show best when a piece of the leaf broken off is looked at edgewise.
If you examine the fruit-dots on the backs of the different kinds of ferns you will be surprised to find how pretty they are and of how many different shapes. Sometimes the fruit is not borne on the back of the leaf but forms little clusters by themselves, which are sometimes at the end of the fern, sometimes in the middle, sometimes on a separate stalk.
Mosses, lichens and sea-weeds are well worth looking at.
Early in the summer an exquisite little fungus called "Cluster cups" may be found on the underside of barberry leaves. Hawthorn and other plants have handsome fungi on them later in the season.