Botanical chapter: Karel Čapek distinguishes between station or butcher flora

As is well known, glacial and steppe flora are distinguished, Arctic, Pontic, Mediterranean, Subtropical, marsh and all kinds of others, both according to their origin and according to their place of occurrence and abundance.

Well, if you are a little interested in vegetation, you will find that other vegetation thrives in cafes and another, let's say, smokers; whereas certain species and genera thrive particularly at stations and others with line keepers; perhaps a detailed comparative study could show that a flora outside the windows of Catholics thrives than the windows of infidels and progressives, whereas in the shop windows with haberdashery only artificial flowers really flourish, and so on.

However, since botanical topography is still in its infancy, let's stick to a few well-defined and prominent botanical groups.

1. The station flora has two subclasses: the vegetation on the platform and the garden of the mayor. On the platform, usually hung in baskets, but sometimes also on the ledges or in the windows of the station, there are especially thrushes, lobelias, geraniums, petunias and begonias, and sometimes higher dracens at higher-category stations.

The station flora is characterized by an extremely abundant and colorful flower. The headmaster's garden is botanically less pronounced; there are also roses, forget-me-nots, pansies, lobelias, honeysuckle and other sociologically indistinguishable species.

2. The flora of the railway grows in the gardens of the track guards. It includes mainly marshmallow, which is called mallow, and sunflowers, as well as tropaeolum, climbing roses, dahlias and sometimes asters; obviously, they are mostly plants protruding over the fence, perhaps to please the oncoming driver.

The wild flora of the railway grows on the railway embankment; it consists mainly of the nymph, the weasel, the division, the shoulder, the snake, the motherwort and some other railway species.

3. The butcher's flora grows in the butchers' shop windows, among the cut backs, hams, lambs and sausages. It includes a small number of species, especially aukubu, asparagus sprengeri, cactus cereus and echinopsis; araucaria and sometimes primroses also occur in pots in smokers.

4. The flora of the inn counts two oleanders in front of the gates and in the windows of the aspidistra; inns that grow so-called home-made lunches also have cineraries in the windows, restaurants even grow dracena, philodendron, large-leaved begonias, colorful coleuses, latanias, ficus and the vegetation that the ball's clerks described in the apt words that " vegetation". Only aspidistas thrive in cafes; on the other hand, lobelias, petunias, tradescancers, and even laurels and ivy grow abundantly on the café terraces.

As far as I know, no vegetation thrives on bakers, gunsmiths, car and farm shops, ironmongers, furriers, stationers, hatters and many other trades.

The front windows have either nothing at all, or red and white geraniums; in general, official vegetation depends on the will and willingness of either the official servant or the head of the office. In addition, some tradition decides here; while in the field of railways the vegetation flourishes, nothing grows at post offices and telegraphs; Self-governing authorities are more vegetatively fruitful than state authorities, among which tax authorities in particular are a desert.

The botanical class for itself, however, is the cemetery flora and then, of course, the ceremonial flora that surrounds the plaster bust of the celebrant; this includes oleander, laurel, palm and, in the worst case, aspidistra.

As for the window flora, it is twofold: poor and rich. The one for poorer people is usually better; in addition, the richer ones usually get by while they are in a summer apartment.

However, this does not exhaust the botanical abundance of various plant sites; I would sometimes like to find out which kind of people grow fuchsia and which passion fruit, what profession are cactus growers and so on; it is possible that a special communist flora or the flora of the People's Party is or will take over. The wealth of the world is great; every trade, whatever, I say, every political party could have its own flora.