LILIES AND ORCHIDS 139 
Another helleborine comes in sight and he wants more 
honey ; down goes his head into the cup, for he always 
begins at the bottom. He just touches the lower part of 
the column with his head and with his ornamental pollen 
masses. If the receptive part of the stigma is ripe and 
sticky, the pollen masses are torn away from the wasp, 
and if not they remain on his head for another flower. 
Moreover, if he lifts his head, he may have the luck to 
bag another brace from the rostellum at the top, and be 
able to fertilise several flowers, which he probably does 
before his day’s work is over. All this sounds like a 
fairy tale, but it is sober truth, and is happening every 
day in summer-time in woods and meadows, wherever 
orchids grow, with slight modifications. I want you to 
notice how the two parties to the business both get profit 
from it. The insect could not live without honey, the 
plant could not start new prosperous generations with- 
out pollen from outside, and they both combine in the 
wonderful scheme of nature for mutual help. 
I will close this chapter with a few hints where to find 
your orchids and how to distinguish the commoner sorts. 
For one or two, marshes must be sought, e.g. the Marsh 
Orchid, which bears spikes of rose-coloured flowers, with 
very long bracts, in June and July, and the tiny Bog 
Orchid, with a spike of minute greenish flowers. Chalk 
and limestone pastures are perhaps the most fertile soil 
of all, for there you will find the Early Purple in May 
with spotted leaves, and the Meadow Orchid with green- 
_ verned purple sepals. The Pyramidal Orchid is later, 
with a dense cluster of rose flowers with long spurs, and 
about the same time comes the commoner Spotted Orchid, 
with its cone of pale purple-veined flowers. The Butter- 
fly you will find generally by the edge of a wood, with a 
