AND HONEY. 269 



versaries to prove that such parts were not 

 Nectaries. Sometimes possibly he may seem 

 to err, like UHeritier, in calling abortive 

 stamens by this name. Yet who knows that 

 their filaments do not secrete honey as wel 

 as the tubes of numerous flowers? And though 

 abortive as to Antheras, the Filament, con- 

 tinuing strong and vigorous, may do its of- 

 fice. 



Honey is not absolutely confined to the 

 flower. The glands on the footstalks of Pas- 

 sion-flowers yield it, and it exudes from the 

 flower-stalks of some liliaceous plants. 



The sweet viscid liquor in question has 

 given rise to much diversity of opinion re- 

 specting its use. Pontedera thought it was 

 absorbed by the seeds for their nourishment 

 while forming, as the yolk of the egg by the 

 chick. But Linnseus observes in reply, that 

 barren flowers produce it as well as fertile 

 ones, witness Urtica and Salix. In some 

 instances the fertile flowers only are observed 

 to bear honey, as Fhyllanthm and Tamils 

 but such cases are rare. Even Darwin says 

 the honey is the food of the stamens and 

 pistils, not recollecting that it is often lodged 

 in spurs or cells quite out of their reach. 



