123 



been carried to it by small insects. But the stigmas are not always so 

 well protected as the foregoini;; mij.'lit indicate. As the season advances 

 flowers begin to appear in which the stigmatic end of the ovary is ex- 

 posed. On the IGth of Septemljer a patch of /. aurea was visited and the 

 ovary fonnd protruding in a ma.iority of tliose examined. That this 

 change was due to the waning vigor of the plant seems to be shown when, 

 at a later date, after rain and contiuxied warm weather, only one out of 

 twenty-five flowers was found with the stigma exposed. Examination 

 with a microscope showed pollen adhering to the papilla* of the stigma. 

 Soon after the exposed stigmas are seen cleistogamous flowers begin to 

 appear. 



Just over, or anterior to the protuberance, made on the hood by the 

 end of the ovary, is an erect, mem1)ranous appendage, composed of two 

 pieces about one line long. Its f miction is not obvious, but it may serve 

 as an increased protection to the stigma against self-pollenation. So far 

 as seen it is peculiar to Iiiipatiois (nnrn. 



Impatlcns hiflora, Walt. After two years of observation, I am led to 

 believe that the spotted touch-me-not produces its crop of cliestogam- 

 ous flowers in the spring only, before the conspicuous flowers begin to 

 appear. This fact has led some writers, who looked for them in autumn, 

 to state that this species does not produce concealed flowers. Last 

 spring hundreds of them were examined and concealed flowers found in 

 the axils of the leaves of all the plants over six inches high. The glau- 

 cous stem of the /. aiirea distinguishes the young plant of that species 

 before it blooms, but to make sure of the species, they were again visited 

 after conspicuous flowers had become abundant. The first conspicuous 

 flowers had the stigmas exposed through a hole in the hood. But this 

 exposure of the stigma Avas confined to the spring flowers. The first 

 normal flower seen in my yard came into bloom June the 0th, and pro- 

 duced a seed-l)earing capsule. The distance at which this plant grew, 

 from any others then in bU.om of the same species, probably excludes the 

 possibility of cross-fei tilization. Those blooming a few days later had 

 holes in the hood. 



The touch-me-not is cross-fertilized through the agency of bees. 

 Rarely a humming-bird poises over a flower, Init does not seem to find 

 anything to detain it long. Its bill is too long and slender to make it a 

 good instrument for carrying pollen. Humble-bees become numerous 

 about the flowers late in the season, and by their size and clumsy move- 



