ARTTFTCTAL FERTILISATION. 285 



In '"The Story of the Plants," Grant Allen says, "The use of 

 the corolla with its brilliant petals, is to attract insects to the 

 flowers and inchirc thou to rnrrv )iollcii from plant to iilant. That 

 is why they arc painted red and blue and yellow; they are there 

 as advertisements to tell the bee or butterfly, "Here you can get 

 get good honev" ! If the brilliant coloured petal of flowers are so 

 attractive to bees, how is it the single blooms are more attractive to 

 them than double ones of the same variety and species having the 

 same colour ? Here is the answer : The single ones produce pollen 

 which is the all-essential food supply for the young bees, but truly 

 double blo(im.s produce no anthers, therefore they produce no pollen. 

 Where bees can get the greatest supply of food in the shortest 

 space of time is the place where they will go. They do not care 

 what colour the corolla is, it may be "painted red, blue, or yellow," 

 the pollen and honey are the advertisements. Neither do they 

 care what colour the pollen is, because they carry home white, 

 yellow, and red pollen indiscriminately, but only one colour at 

 the same time. The cells in the combs that are packed with pollen 

 contain any colour they can get. Food is the advertisement, and 

 not the colour in the corolla or the petals. 



In some of our niost (U'naniental plants the flowers are so 

 inconspicuous were it not for their foliage they would be treated 

 as weeds and rooted out. The brilliant foliage is their only re- 

 commendation. The carpet beds in our Botanical Gardens during 

 summer are one of the chief attractions to the grounds. They are 

 nothing but leaves. There is no denying their brilliancy. Watch 

 as long as your patience will permit, you will never see pollen or 

 honey-feeding insects alight on them for the purpose of obtaining 

 food. If the clipping or trimming of these carpet beds be neglect- 

 ed, and the tiny flowers be permitted to expand, you will at once 

 see bees and other insects alighting for grains of pollen and sips 

 of honey. 



The caladiuiu and the coleus have foliage far more showy than 

 the blooms of scores of plants that are constantly visited by bees, 

 but bright as the foliage may be, the bees are not attracted thereby. 

 When the coleus throws up its spike of pale blue flowers then it 

 becomes attractive to insects, and they are drawn to it, not by 

 the colour of the flower or the leaf, but by the food contained in 

 the former. 



In the month of September the peach-trees are in full bloom, 

 so are the bousainvilleas. The brilliant crimson bracts of tae 



