<ii.i:.\xiN(is IN i{i:i': ( ri/rnii': 



Al'K. 15 



Since then, says I>r. Fleli-her. "endless oh- 

 servations have con firmed Ihe accuracy of 

 Harwm's law: and it has l)een found that in 

 tiie vast majority of i)hints special ai)i)h- 

 aiices exist which will secure a moro or less 

 frequent mter-cross." And then he }i;oeson 

 to say that these appliances comjiletely ex- 

 clude the possibility of self-fecundati(in. 



Coming now to the special airencies for 

 the fertilization of plants, we may say in a 

 general way that there are two. the animate 

 and the injinimate. Among the Hrst men- 

 tioned may l)e included wind. rain, and the 

 force of gravity. There can be no (luestlon 

 but that pollen from some plants is blown 

 not only from flower to (lower, but, in some 

 cases, clear out to sea. Cases are on reco.cl 

 where pollen from certain sj)ecies of i)ines 

 lias been found hundreds and lumdreds of 

 miles floating in the air and lodging in the 

 rigging of shii)s. llain doubt less has a large 

 inlluence. because it si)atters Ihe fertilizing 

 clement from one llower to another, (grav- 

 ity must necessarily convey the pollen lo- 

 cated on the to])s of the trees or plants to 

 the blossoms situated further down, whether 

 on the same or other plant of the same si)e- 

 cies. 



Among tlie animate agencies for the di - 

 Iribution of ])ollen. insects (and especially 

 bees) are by far tlie most imjxjrtant. To a 

 very limited extent animals and birds may 

 assist. While insects otlier tlian bees un- 

 tloul)tedly i)erform a \ ery valuable service, 

 the honey-bee. from the very fact that it is 

 out earlier in the spring than all other in- 

 .sects, must necessarily be regarded as by far 

 the most imi)ortant nreans of bringing about 

 cross-polUnation among om- fruit-trees; and 

 even when c '. iie • insects are in the a.v. it out- 

 numbers any other species, and ]K,s>ibly, in 

 some cases, all other s|)ecies comi^ncd, a 

 thousand to one. Its general slnipe and size, 

 the si)ecial construction of its tongue and its 

 legs, all together make it especially adai)t- 

 able for receiving and carrying i)ollen. 





oa 



Kk;. 3.— (koss-sectidns or Dimduphic I'l.i \vkk iI'himi i 



vuLG.vuis. Common I'lUMiiosK.i. ( )r(lf r I'rimulncea . 



-From Clicsliirc, 



Cross-fertilization among some i)lants is 

 brought aixiul by the male and female or- 

 gans, the stamens and |)istils i)eing located 

 in difTerent llowers. sometimes on the same 

 ])lant or tree, and again on separate trees. 



— From Fletcher. 



In the\.illows, for example, the male cat- 

 kins, that is. the portion of the flower bear- 

 ing the stamens, appear on one tree while 

 the pistils ap])ear on another. This technic- 

 ally is called staminate and pistillate inflo- 

 rescence. As the willows are a source of 

 honey as well as pollen, and as they come to 

 bloom very early in the season, it is appar- 

 ent that liees must i)lay a large i)art in their 

 cross-] )ollinat ion. ("ommon cases of male 

 and female llowers on the same plant are 

 found in the butternut, hiclvory, birches, 

 and hazels. In some instances the 

 male |)ortion of the flower comes to 

 maturity before the female, and v'i(( 

 vt rs(t. In others there seems to be an 

 elTort on the part of nature, through 

 a sjiecial form and arrangement of the 

 l)ar1s of the llower. to jjrevent self- 

 fertilization. In this case it ai)pears 

 that the bee. or some insect, jnust 

 carry the pollen from one jilant to the 

 other. 



Mr. Cheshire in his magnilicent 

 work. "Jiees and Jiee-kcei)ing." \'ol. 

 I., gives a niuiilier of very interesting 

 examples of the w(uk performed by 

 l.ees. While he ai)i^ears to have 

 ('rawn from Charles Darwin and I'rof. 

 Asa (tray, lus illustrations showiig 

 h':w Nature has sought to prevent 

 ^ elf-pollination are so interesting and 

 \aluable. especially as they show the 

 service performed by the bee, that we repro- 

 duce them here. 



In Fig. ;'> we have a cross-section of what 

 is known as the common ]Mimrose (Prh)iii- 

 l(( riil(/((rix\ . that furnishes an examjtle of 



