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PERSONALITY OF PLANTS 
directly into a blossom after nectar, is to almost 
always mistake it for a Butterfly. 
Many birds are invaluable allies of the 
plant world. They devour thousands of leaf- 
eating insects per day and so keep down 
the army of enemies which would otherwise de- 
stroy whole forests. Birds like the Wood- 
peckers rid tree bark of wood-boring crawlers. 
In the human world every partner does not 
always live up to his agreements. And there are 
evidences that both plants and their allies some- 
times engage in questionable practices, border- 
ing on deception and chicanery. 
The insects are often enough the offenders, 
and their crime is most frequently one of rob- 
bery. If they can get the sweets they are after 
without carrying out their share of the bargain, 
they will do so. Bumble Bees have been ob- 
served to cut through the flower-walls of a Nas- 
turtium and so extract its nectar without com- 
ing near the pollen-producing stamens. Sweet 
Peas frequently ignore the insects and fertilize 
themselves. The Hawkweed (Hieracium) has 
so little faith in insect allies that it produces 
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