i.] TO FLOWERS. 



the same time. Under these circumstances the trans- 

 ference of the pollen from the stamens to the pistil 

 is effected in various ways. In some species the 

 pollen is carried by the action of the wind ; in some 

 few cases, by birds ; but in the majority, this im- 

 portant object is secured by the visits of insects, 

 and the whole organisation of such flowers is adapted 

 to this purpose. 



To the honey are due the visits of insects ; the 

 sweet scent and bright colours of the flowers attract 

 them ; the lines and circles on the corolla guide them 

 to the right spot ; and, as we shall see, there are a 

 number of curious contrivances all tending to the same 

 object. But while Sprengel's deep religious feeling thus 

 gave him the clue which has thrown so much light on 

 the origin and structure of flowers, the comparatively 

 low conception of creative power which was in his 

 time, and, indeed, until recently, prevalent, led him to 

 assume that each flower was created as we now see it, 

 and prevented him from perceiving the real signifi- 

 cance of the facts which he had discovered ; while 

 the true explanation could scarcely have escaped 

 him if he had possessed that higher view of creation 

 which we owe to Mr. Darwin. Though he observed 

 that in many species the stamens and pistil are not 

 mature simultaneously, and that such plants there- 

 fore cannot fertilise themselves, but are generally 

 dependent on the visits of insects, he appears to have 

 considered that these visits were arranged mainly in 

 order to overcome the difficulty of fertilisation thus 

 resulting ; and hence, perhaps, the oblivion into which 

 his work, though so interesting and suggestive in 



B 2 



