Cultivated-Plant Study 



607 



Pansies. 



Drawn by Anna C. Stryke. 



THE PANSY 

 Teacher's Story 



OME people are pansy-faced and some pansies are human- 

 faced, and for some occult reason this puts people and 

 pansies on a distinctly chummy basis. When we analyze 

 the pansy face, we find that the dark spots at the bases of 

 the side petals make the eyes, the lines radiating from 

 them looking quite eyelashy. The opening to the nectar- 

 tube makes the nose, while the spot near the base of the 

 lower petal has to do for a mouth, the nectar guiding-lines 

 being not unlike whiskers. Meanwhile, the two upper 

 petals give a "high -browed" look to the pansy counten- 

 ance, and make it a wise and knowing little face. 



The pansy nectar is hidden in the spur made by the lower petal extend- 

 ing behind the flower. The guiding lines on the lower and side petals all 

 converge, pointing directly to the opening which leads to this nectar-well, 

 telling the secret to every bee that flies. Moreover, the broad lower petal 

 is a platform for the lady bee to alight upon, while she probes the nectar- 

 well with her tongue. 



But at the door leading to the nectar-well sits a little man ; his head is 

 green, he wears a white cape with a scalloped, reddish brown collar, and 

 he sits with his bandy legs pushed back into the spur as if he were taking a 

 foot bath in nectar. This little pansy man has 

 plenty of work to do; for his mouth, which is large 

 and at the top of his green head, is the stigma. The 

 cape is made of five overlapping stamens, the 

 brown, scalloped collar being the anthers; his legs 

 consist of prolongations of the two lower stamens. 

 And when the bee probes the nectar-well with her 

 tongue, she tickles the little man's feet so that his 

 head and shoulders wriggle; and thus she brushes 

 the pollen dust from his collar against her fuz/y 

 face, and at the same time his mouth receives the pollen from her dusty 

 coat. 



The little 



