36 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



a colored object from an object not colored. We need more observa- 

 tions before we can safely say that insects apprehend the different 

 shades of color, and prefer one shade to another ; but, if any one will 

 w^atch bees on a bed of hyacinths, he will see that a particular bee is 

 apt to confine itself to a particular color. 



Fig. 6. 



(Riley.) 



We conclude that color and nectary are in correlation with the 

 organs of fructification and with the eyes and appetites of insects. 



Odor must come under the same law as color. We must seek for 

 its rationale in the flower itself and the forces or agents which act on 

 it. The hidden flowers of violet and polygala are odorless as well as 



Fig. 7. 



(Riley.) 



colorless. The grasses, pines, and palms, whose pollen is borne on the 

 wind, are inconspicuous in color and are generally without odor. But 

 some species of palm require the visitation of insects, and while their 

 flowers remain inconspicuous in color they are rich in perfume. The 

 fan-palm of the Rio Negro perfumes the air far and near with the odor 

 of mignonette. Myriads of insects, attracted by the fragrance, hum 

 and buzz among the flowers, and carry pollen from the staminate to 

 the pistillate ones. This odor is pleasant to man as well as insects. 



