Flag and Crocus 317 
it has done sucking honey it crawls back under the 
stigma, but has not room to allow it to eat pollen. 
Only the non-sensitive lower edge of the stigmatic 
scale is touched as it passes, but no pollen is left upon 
it ; this is retained among the hairs of the fly’s thorax 
and deposited on the stigma of the next flower visited. 
Of course, there must be a good deal of self-fertilisa- 
tion effected in this way when the fly or bee carefully 
visits the three departments of each flower, but often 
only one is explored, and then cross-fertilisation must 
ensue ; further, where three stigmas are touched in 
one flower, the first of the trio must be fertilised with 
pollen brought from the flower last visited. 
Our other species of Flag is the Roast-beef Plant, 
Gladdon, or Feetid Iris (1. feetidissima), a plant of 
much less frequent occurrence, in copses on a lime- 
stone soil. Itisa much smaller plant than the Yellow 
Flag, with soft dark leaves and purple sepals, the 
stigmas and petals yellow. It has an evil odour, 
which has earned several of its names, some persons 
recognising in it a suggestion of the aroma from a 
roasting joint of beef, whilst others regard it merely 
as a “stink.” 
