SOME FANTASTIC FLOWERS 47 



This would never do. The greatest injustice a 

 plant can do its descendants is to have inconspicu- 

 ous flowers, unless it develops some substitute 

 attraction; and Hound's Tongue had no idea of 

 shirking her duty. Loving the sky, she did not wish 

 to change her color, so she copied its beauties still 

 further by developing an arch of white at the inner 

 curve of each petal. We notice at once the effective- 

 ness of this color contrast, and so does the insect. 

 He may be soaring under the heavenly blue until 

 he is surfeited with that shade, but his eyes are 

 caught by the five white crests, and down he swoops. 

 Or he may be climbing up with the sky filling his 

 vision, when a sudden glimpse of those gleaming 

 crests will divert his footsteps. Once under the 

 snowy arch, the same process goes on. As he feeds, 

 he is powdered with pollen, which he carries to an- 

 other blossom. 



Having so arduously developed her beautiful 

 blossom to secure cross fertilization, Hound's 

 Tongue takes no chances on her seed being wasted. 

 On each of the four nutlets that are ripened in her 

 ovary, she has evolved numerous hooks. No mov- 

 ing thing can pass her, be it sheep or be it human, 

 without these little barbs catching in his covering. 

 Perhaps you have had the experience of brushing 

 them off your clothes. That is exactly why Hound's 

 Tongue so fashioned them. Her seeds are sure to 



