THE SPEEDWELLS 157 
now four of about equal size and the stamens are reduced 
from the usual four or five to two. The pistil ripens 
first, which is the less ordinary routine, and stretches out 
even before the bud opens, ready for a bee, or fly, to call 
after finding pollen on a yet earlier flower. 
A second form is illustrated by the Foxglove, the 
handsomest, perhaps, of all the English Dicotyledons, 
with its tall spikes of purple or white 
bells, finely backed by rich red-brown 
rocks in a wood-side, or rioting in gay 
confusion over the prostrate form of some 
fallen giant of the forest. If we examine 
one of these spikes, we notice that the 
flowers ripen at the lowest first, and that 
the yet unopened: buds at the top still 
point to the sky, whilst those beneath 
look wide-mouthed towards the ground. 
Three advantages are thereby gained. The 
buds, which have for the present no 
part in the business, stand well away from 
the flowers which have their work to do; the downward 
slope of those that are open protects the pollen from 
the rain; and it also makes them, probably, more 
convenient of access to the bees, for whom they have 
secreted their honey at the base. Notice, too, that all 
the fairy bells upon the spike are turned in one special 
direction, and that towards the open, supposing the 
plant to be on the hillside. They must hang towards 
any possible visitors, and leave nothing to chance. If 
you look inside one of the bells you will see that the 
lower part of the bell projects to form a platform, and 
then seems to guide the bee by a line of hairs to the 
honey at the top of the ascent. Close-set to the upper 
FOXGLOVE. 
