in the Fertilization of Papilionaceous Flowers. 461 



fertilization, even when the young pod falls off, as very often hap- 

 pens almost immediately. Sir W. Macarthur, who did not know 

 of my experiments, told me that he had found that in New South 

 Wales the introduced Erythrina did not set its pods well unless 

 the flowers were moved. From the statement in regard to the 

 Clover in New Zealand, I wrote to Mr. Swale, of Christchurch 

 in New Zealand, and asked him whether Leguminous plants 

 seeded there freely before the hive-bee was introduced ; and he, 

 in the most obliging manner, has sent me a list of twenty-four 

 plants of this order which seeded abundantly before bees were 

 introduced. And as he states that there is no indigenous bee 

 (perhaps this statement applies to bees resembling hive or humble 

 bees, for some other genera are known to inhabit New Zealand), 

 the fact that these plants seeded freely at first appears quite fatal 

 to my doctrine. But Mr. Swale adds that he believes that three 

 species of a wasp-like insect performed the part of bees, before 

 the introduction of the latter : unfortunately he does not ex- 

 pressly state that he has seen them sucking the flower. He 

 further adds a remarkable statement, that there are two or three 

 kinds of grasshoppers which frequent flowers ; and he says he has 

 repeatedly watched them " release the stamens from the keel- 

 petal," — so that, extraordinary as the fact is, it would appear 

 that grasshoppers, though having a mouth so differently con- 

 structed, in New Zealand have to a certain extent the habits of 

 bees. Mr. Swale further adds that the garden varieties of the 

 Lupine seed less freely than any other leguminous plant in New 

 Zealand; and he says, " I have for amusement during the summer 

 released the stamens with a pin ; and a pod of seed has always 

 rewarded me for my trouble, and the adjoining flowers not so 

 served have all proved blind." The case of the Lupine in New 

 Zealand not seeding freely now that bees have been introduced 

 may be accounted for by the fact, if I dare trust my memory, 

 that in England this plant is visited by humble-bees, and not by 

 hive-bees. 



These several facts, and the foregoing experiments, seem to me 

 rather curious ; for who, seeing that papilionaceous flowers are 

 hermaphrodite, have an abundant supply of pollen, which is ma- 

 ture before the flower opens, and that the flower itself is so neatly 

 closed, would have imagined that insects played so important a 

 part in their fertilization ? I can hardly doubt that in England, 

 during a season when bees were very scanty, if in any one district 

 large crops of seed-clover were planted, the crop would partly fail, 

 from the flowers not being sufficiently moved. 



The foregoing little experiments, however, were not tried in 

 relation to the agency of insects in fertilizing a plant with its 

 own pollen. Andrew Knight many years ago propounded the 



