194 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 



with that of human beings. Consider those plants 

 which open at night only, when the crawling insect 

 pest is not about, while certain winged pollen-bear- 

 ers are still at their work; there are some plants, 

 which, being fertilised by but one kind of insect, 

 open and emit perfume only during the hours when 

 this insect is abroad. Consider the bribing habits of 

 certain plants, offering sweets to the crawling in- 

 sects below, and barricading, by means of numerous 

 sharp thorns, their way to the honey and pollen 

 nests above. Consider those flowers which, wishing 

 to keep out falling moisture but having no wish 

 to close their petals against the visiting bee, droop 

 on their stems, and in their pendent position run 

 no danger of having their pollen harmed. 



These actions and habits are not merely the "nat- 

 ural way" of these particular plants ; for the night- 

 bloomers, kept free entirely from crawling insects, 

 become in time day-bloomers; the plants fertilised 

 by a particular insect, if supplied at all hours with 

 ample fertilisation, open and emit perfume freely 

 at other than the hours of this insect's flight; the 

 bribers and thorn-bearers, in domestication and free 

 from insect pests, lose their bribing sacks and their 

 thorns; and the plants whose flowers in the wild 

 state depended, will raise their mouths fearlessly 

 to the sun, if protected from the rain under glass. 



