BEES AND FLOWERS, 471 



quentl}' tho inovnious honey l^ee takes advantag'e of the perforations 

 made by earlier visitors of this dass to get at the nectar more ({uiekly. 



But it is useless to dwell longer upon these points. IJees are 

 admirably adapted to the collection of nectar and of pollen, and these 

 two products are necessary to them and sufHcient for them at any age, 

 so nnich so that one may say, with M. l\n'ez, that " every species of 

 ])ee without exception would disa[)])ear if flowers should cease to 

 bloom or if they should cease to produce nectar and pollen." 



This fact well established — that flowers are indis})ensable to the bee, 

 it is next necessary to see if the 1)ees arc in return of any service to the 

 flowers, and, if so, \\o^x much. The (juestion has been nnich discussed, 

 and to this chiefly are due the ditl'erences of opinion that I will s])eak 

 of in a few moments. 



P)efoi-e entering the thick of the fray, let me explain a few of 

 the fundamental principles governing the fertilization of phanerog- 

 amous i)lants. In most of these plants, especially the more connnon 

 ones, the stamens, or male organs, and the ovules, or fenuile organs, 

 are found in the same flow-er, which in that case is called a hernuiphro- 

 dite. On its pei'ii)herv ai'c found the stamtMis crowned by the anthers 

 containing the ijollen and in the center rests one or moiv sacs which 

 are united to form the pistil and which inclose a varying- munber — 

 always infinitely less than the munber of pollen grain — of ovules. 

 For these to become seeds it is necessary that the pollen germinate on 

 the pistil and, by working tlirongh it, unite with each ovule. In the 

 plants of which the flowers are unisexual — that is to say, some flowers 

 are male, others female — the process is the same except that in this 

 case it is necessary that the pollen be brought to the pistil of the 

 female flower. 



This is l)r()ught about in two ways, by close fertilization and by 

 cross fertilization. In the former the ovules are impregnated by the 

 l)ollen of tlie flower which contains them, in the latter the fertilization 

 is fi'om pollen of a different plant. Darwin has shown that cross fer- 

 tilization is nnich more advantageous to a ])laut than close, and that 

 the maxinnun benefit is obtained in the crossing of two \'ariel ies of the 

 same species. The advantage is shown in general by a more i-obust 

 A^egetation, an eai'lier tlowei'ing, and the formation of moi-e and better 

 seeds. Darwin's demonstrations rest u[)on an abundance of exjx'ri- 

 ment and obsei'vation, and are, moreover, justified by modern ])i'actice 

 extended even into the animal kingdom. 



Nothing indicates more clearly the advantages of cross fertiliza- 

 tion than does its great predominance in the vegetalde kingdom; it 

 is absolutely necessary in the case of ]:)lants with unisexual tlowei's, 

 and, despite all ajipearances to the contrary, obtains in many, if not 



