牽牛花
葉圣陶

手種牽牛花，接連有三四年了。水門汀地沒法下種，種在十來個瓦盆里。泥是今年又明年反復用著的，無從取得新的泥來加入，曾與鐵路軌道旁種地的那個北方人商量，愿出錢向他買一點兒，他不肯。

從城隍廟的花店里買了一包過磷酸骨粉，攙和在每一盆泥里，這算代替了新泥。

瓦盆排列在墻腳，從墻頭垂下十條麻線，每兩條距離七八寸，讓牽牛的藤蔓纏繞上去。這是今年的新計劃，往年是把瓦盆擺在三尺光景高的木架子上的。這樣，藤蔓很容易爬到了墻頭；隨后長出來的互相糾纏著，因自身的重量倒垂下來，但末梢的嫩條便又蛇頭一般仰起，向上伸，與別組的嫩條糾纏，待不勝重量時重演那老把戲；因此墻頭往往堆積著繁密的葉和花，與墻腰的部分不相稱。今年從墻腳爬起，沿墻多了三尺光景的路程，或者會好一點兒；而且，這就將有一垛完全是葉和花的墻。

藤蔓從兩瓣子葉中間引伸出來以后，不到一個月功夫，爬得最快的幾株將要齊墻頭了，每一個葉柄處生一個花蕾，像谷粒那么大，便轉黃萎去。據幾年來的經驗，知道起頭的一批花蕾是開不出來的；到后來發育更見旺盛，新的葉蔓比近根部的肥大，那時的花蕾才開得成。

今年的葉格外綠，綠得鮮明；又格外厚，仿佛絲絨剪成的。這自然是過磷酸骨粉的功效。他日花開，可以推知將比往年的盛大。

但興趣并不專在看花，種了這小東西，庭中就成為系人心情的所在，早上才起，工畢回來，不覺總要在那里小立一會兒。那藤蔓纏著麻線卷上去，嫩綠的頭看似靜止的，并不動彈；實際卻無時不回旋向上，在先朝這邊，停一歇再看，它便朝那邊了。前一晚只是綠豆般大一粒嫩頭，早起看時，便已透出二三寸長的新條，綴一兩張長滿細白絨毛的小葉子，葉柄處是僅能辨認形狀的小花蕾，而末梢又有了綠豆般大一粒嫩頭。有時認著墻上斑剝痕想，明天未必便爬到那里吧；但出乎意外，明晨竟爬到了斑剝痕之上；好努力的一夜功夫！“生之力”不可得見；在這樣小立靜觀的當兒，卻默契了“生之力”了。漸漸地，渾忘意想，復何言說，只呆對著這一墻綠葉。

即使沒有花，興趣未嘗短少；何況他日花開，將比往年盛大呢。

Morning Glory
Ye Shengtao

I have been planting morning glories for three to four years now. As morning glories can not be planted on cement floors, I plant them in many clay pots. As there is no place to get new earth to add in, the earth in the pots is used repeatedly year after year. I talked with a man from the north who grew plants beside the railway and I wanted to buy some earth from him, but he refused.

So I bought a bag of superphosphate bone meal from a flowerer shop in town at Town God's Temple Street and mixed it into each pot as a substitute for new earth.

The clay pots are placed next to the wall with more than ten threads that hung from the top of the wall. Each thread is spaced seven or eight cun (1) apart for each vine to climb. This is a new method this year. In the previous years I used to put my pots on a wooden support about three chi (2) high. In this way the vines of the morning glories would climb to the top of the wall easily. The wines which grew later would get tangled with the older ones, and often hung down for their own weight. But the tender vines at the ends would again lift their heads like many tiny snakes and climb upwards and again get tangled with the delicate vines. When they could no longer bear their own weight, they would play the same old trick. Therefore, there were often thick piles of rich leaves and flowers on top of the wall, far superior to the middle part of the wall. This year they began to climb from the bottom of the wall, but they must climb at additional three chi this time. In this way things may be much better. And what is more, there will be a wall covered evenly with leaves and flowers.

Having crawled out between the peals, within one month the fast growing vines are already as tall as the wall, and flower buds as big as rice grains are found on every leaf stalk. Then they will become yellow and fade away. According to my several years of experience, I know that the first flower buds do not blossom. Later on when the vines are more developed and stronger, the buds will blossom.

This year the morning glories’ leaves are exceptionally green and transparent. And they are as thick as if they had been cut from velvet. Surely this is due to the superphosphate bone meal. It can be deduced that the flowers blossoming later will be richer than those in previous years.

But my interests are not focused on watching flowers. Having planted these small flowers, the courtyard has become a place that I am anxious to spend time in. After getting up in the morning and after my office work, I would stand there watching subconsciously. The vines spiral around the linen threads. Tender flower heads poise still and motionless. But actually they are crawling upwards all the time. At first they twist this way and after a moment they would turn the other way. One tender wine head was the size of a mung bean last night and when I see it this morning it has already grown a new vine of about two or three cun. Picking one or two small fuzzy leaves, I find at the bottom of the stalk, there is already another tender vine head as big as a mung bean. Sometimes I pick out a mark on the wall and think: tomorrow it may not grow any further. But to my surprise, it has climbed past the mark by the next day. The overnight hard work of the “the Vitality of Life” could not be detected. But after moments of careful observation, I feel I have a tacit understanding of “the Vitality of Life”. Gradually, my thoughts about the morning glories become too much to mention and I have only to watch this wall full of green leaves.

Even if there are no flowers, my interests are not reduced. Let alone other days when they blossom they will be more flourishing than in previous years.

(1)and (2) cun and chi, units of measurement, a chi is equal to ten cun.