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the ovaries are always in a moist atmosphere. By this I mean, that 
one may assume, not only that the nectar is continually replenished 
by fresh secretion (this can indeed be observed in many plants) but 
also that on increased concentration, the nectar never dries up, be it, 
that it absorbs aqueous vapour from the air, or abstracts water from 
the ovary itself. This moistening of the ovary reminds us vividly of 
certain well-known mechanisms for protecting an organ against 
excessive transpiration, such as a covering of wax, or of mucilage- 
secreting glands. In this connexion | may point out that among 
plants without nectar, there are indeed some, in which the ovary is 
protected by wax, as in Papaver, Eschscholtzia, and Glaucium or by 
mucilage, as in species of Lysimachia, Ononis spinosa, and Verbascum 
Blattaria. It thus becomes intelligible, that these plants can do without 
nectar. In Verbascum Blattarta the ovary, which is fairly deeply 
hidden, is covered from top to bottom with compound glands, which 
correspond in structure with lupulin- and /zbes glands, continually 
pouring out a layer of mucilage over the ovary. 
This is the more remarkable and important, since, as was men- 
tioned above, the ovary of all other Verbascum-species is covered 
with a felt, rich in glucose. We find therefore in different species 
of the same genus two different means of protection, to which the 
same biological significance must be attached. 
I now wish to explain further, by some notes on Ranunculaceae 
and Malvaceae, what was said above with reference to the secretion 
of nectar in different parts of the flower. 
Let us consider first of all the flower of T'rollius europaeus L. 
In Prollius the 11 or 13 large, hemispherical. sepals with over- 
lapping edges, form an approximately ball-shaped envelope round the 
sexual organs. The petals, generally 10 in number, are yellow and 
spatulate, and secrete honey on the middle of their inner surfaces. 
The stamens numbering about 160 and placed in numerous whorls, 
surround about 30 ovaries. Except for a small opening, facing upwards, 
the flowers are closed; only the stigmas come wholly or partially 
into view. 
At the beginning of the flowering period the anthers are at about 
the same height as the stigmas, and the ovaries are surrounded and 
protected by the column of stamens. 
Later this is not the case to the same extent, although a few 
whorls of the inner stamens, the anthers of which do not come to 
complete development, retain their places. 
As in Fritillaria, the ovaries of Trollus are in a moist space, and 
are furthermore protected laterally by the stamens. Whereas, however, 
