76 PICTURING MIRACLES 



from the anthers above to the silken tassel of the 

 ear below. The threads of silk are the pistil and 

 stigma and although a foot long the tiny pollen 

 grain can grow its entire length, giving a channel for 

 the nucleus to meet, forming one perfect seed in the 

 ear. 



Although the bee serves many flowers, some blos- 

 soms have their own special one, each dependent on 

 the other; one for food, the other for its life con- 

 tinuance. Flowers that bloom only in the night are 

 usually white or yellow, colors more noticeable than 

 others in the dark, so are invariably visited by some 

 member of the night flying moth family. So many 

 and peculiar are the methods used by flowers to 

 increase the percentage of chance of giving and re- 

 ceiving those tiny spheres necessary to their con- 

 tinued existence that a lifetime would be too short 

 to learn all their ways. 



The Monk's Hood Orchid has a unique method. 

 The honey bee to reach the nectar storehouse must 

 climb under the hood for which it is named. The 

 passage is low but not as low as it becomes after 

 it has discharged its pollen when the receptive stigma 

 almost rubs the bee's back. In crawling into this 

 chamber, the bee's head touches what in effect is a 

 figure 4 trap. This releases a large mass of sticky 

 pollen. It is almost as large as the bee itself. The 



