64 WILD FLOWER FAMILIES 



Now those flies that went into a flower where 

 the pollen had been shed w^ould find the bottom 

 of their retreat thickly covered with the yellow 

 powder. Whenever they move they must dust 

 themselves with this powder and when they leave 

 they must carry much of it on their bodies and 

 legs. Some of this will remain upon them during 

 their brief sojourn in the sunshine, and when 

 they again seek shelter many of them will be 

 likely to enter the chamber of another flower in 

 which the stigmas are receptive. As they walk 

 over the florets of this, the viscid stigmas will 

 catch and retain the pollen grains, and thus the 

 process of cross-pollination will be completed. 



There are other visitors also to these early 

 blossoms. Scavenger flies are especially attracted 

 by the color and odor, and very early in spring 

 the common honey bees find it worth their while 

 to visit them. 



The Swamp Cabbage is of decided interest in 

 another respect. If you attempt to dig up one 

 of the plants you will find that the bulbous root is 

 some distance down, and if you stop to think 

 you will wonder how it came to be so far below 

 the surface. The reason is that the root of this 

 plant is a " burrowing bulb." Soon after the 

 seeds which are developed from the flowers begin 

 to grow in the rich soil of the margin of the bog 

 they form at the base a little bulb, and from the 



