THE FRUITING OF LINN^EA BOREALIS IN SCOTLAND 229 



when the great storm of 22nd December blew out a wide 

 glade whose edge almost touches the area occupied by the 

 colony. From that date there lay for several years a confused 

 mass of roots, boles, and branches which formed on the 

 south side an almost impassable barrier. When this was 

 wholly cleared away, about four years ago, there began to 

 grow up a number of wild flowers in the opening Stone 

 Brambles, Fox-gloves and others, among which Scabious was 

 conspicuous, and animal life too became more numerous, so 

 that the gloom and the silence gave place to the gleam of 

 sunshine, the colour of flowers, and the hum of insects' 



wings. 



Last year the flowers about were not so numerous as 

 they have been this season we determined to find seed, if 

 there was seed in the colony. With this object we crawled 

 on hands and knees over the whole patch from centre to 

 circumference in every direction, and at last were rewarded 

 by the find of a single fruit, the twin pedicel, like so many 

 pairs, sticking up a fruitless withered stump. It was some- 

 thing to get a fruit even such as it was, and we rejoiced and 

 took it for an omen of good. 



On the 2Oth of August 1901 the spot was visited, when 

 the plants were found beautiful as ever but having very few 

 inflorescences, not more than twenty on the whole area of 

 ten square yards. Some of these had three flowers instead of 

 the nicely balanced normal pair, and there were cases where 

 only one of the little flower-stalks bore a flower ; but the 

 majority were well-formed symmetrical blooms. 



The scarcity of flower was not much matter for wonder, 

 for we have seen many years in which there were but few 

 blossoms. Yet considering the favourable character of the 

 present season it is possible that the letting in of the daylight 

 had something to do with the meagre flowering in such a 

 gloom-loving herb. 



It was on this occasion that we noticed in the clearing, 

 many open-air plants with numbers of smaller insects flitting 

 about. As the Linnaea flowers were so near the verge of 

 the wood numbers of flies, attracted by the faint vanilla 

 scent whose sweetness had till now been wasted, found their 

 way to the place and visited the flowers. 



