34 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 



orchids go even further in their repudiation of the 

 pollen which they themselves have produced. The 

 pistil seems poisoned by it, and withers at its 

 touch. 



Many flowers have special devices for securing 

 pollen from other blossoms and for avoiding the 

 use of their own. 



In a number of species the stamens ripen, 

 open, and shed their store, while the pistil is yet 

 too young to make use of any pollen grains it 

 may receive. Then when the pistil is old enough 

 to commence business, and asks for gold, the sur- 

 rounding stamens are a bankrupt community, with 

 none left to give. But " all things come at last 

 to one who knows how to wait." Pollen will be 

 wafted to the pistil by a summer breeze, or car- 

 ried to it by a winged messenger beetle, fly, 

 wasp, moth, butterfly, humming-bird, or bee. But 

 it will be pollen from another flower, and that is 

 exactly what wise Mother Nature has been plan- 

 ning from the first. 



So the insects which flit through our gardens are 

 combining business with pleasure and doing im- 

 portant errands for the flowers. The flowers vie 

 for their attentions with charming toilettes, and 

 pay for their services with free lunches. 



