The Stolen Moccasins 49 



dots of pink and gold are inside the downy shoe, in- 

 stead of making the outside the more showy. 



The first Moccasin-Flower which I found in Aurora's 

 Bog in North Adams I gave to Ray, a little lad of my 

 acquaintance, and he happil}^ and proudly carried it to 

 his teacher. When he came home, he could tell me 

 that all these inner decorations of pink and gold were 

 dewy-tipped with sweets, and were called "Honey 

 Guides," just to invite bees within. And that al- 

 though Master Bee goes through the front door of the 

 Moccasin cottage, he somehow finds it locked when he 

 wishes to escape, so in his excitement has to squeeze 

 through the small back door next to the pollen-masses. 

 He carries forth some of the pollen, and thus helps to 

 fertilize the next blossom of this species, as he enters 

 and rubs off the grains of pollen on the adhesive lobes 

 of the viscid stigma. Insects thus are not permitted to 

 rob the flowers of nectar and pollen without making a 

 return for the food which the flower yields them. 



Were it not for the bees and moths and various flies, 

 the seeds of orchids would not mature, for it is a gen- 

 erally accepted fact that nearly all species of this 

 family, wherever found growing, depend upon insect 

 aid for fertilization and cross-fertilization. With the 

 exception of one or two North American species of 

 genus Habenaria, all other native species are aided by 

 insects. These two species, Hahenaria hyper borea and 

 HabenaHa clavellata, were, according to both Gra}^ 

 and Darwin, supposed regularly to fertilize themselves 

 without aid of insects. 



