Apr. 1--), 1912 



the llowers grow older, the Ups often part 

 shghtly, and then the smaller bees aie able 

 to force an entrance. 



Another bumblebee flower is the turtle- 

 head, which grows along the banks of 

 streams and in marshes. The large white 

 llowers rudely mimic the head of a turtle. 

 Though I have watched them for many 

 hours and on many different occasions, I 

 have never observed them entered by any 

 insect except bumblebees. Sometimes a 

 wasp (Fhilauihus soliraxjus) will fly from 

 blossom to blossom, examining the lips for 

 nectar, but it does not possess sufficient in- 

 telligence to pass between them. The mouth 

 of the flower is so small that a bumblebee 

 sometimes finds difficulty in entering, and 

 flies away to another flower with a larger 

 opening; but once inside there is an abun- 

 dance of room, and I have seen one of them 

 turn completely around within the corolla. 

 I once placed several llower clusters of the 

 turtlehead in a glass of water a few feet in 

 front of a hive; but of the many bees con- 

 stantly coming and going, not one of them 

 entered a flower. But presently, notwith- 

 standing their unusual position, the bumble- 

 bees found them, and one of them visited 

 every flower. Why did the honeybees al- 

 most completely ignore these blossoms, 

 while the bumblebees paid them so much 

 attention? 



It will be remembered that, in the pea 

 family, by means of various devices the pol- 

 len was placed on the under side of the bee's 

 body; but in the mints and flgworts it is de- 

 posited more frequently upon the back of 

 the insect. In the turtlehead the four heart- 

 shaped anthers lie well forward in the angle 

 formed by the sides of the upper lip. Their 

 inner faces are applied together to form a 

 single chamber or cavity into which the 

 l)ollen, when rij^e, falls. The contiguous 

 edges are densely woolly to protect the pol- 

 len and to prevent the relative displacement 

 of the anthers by connecting the first pair 

 above and the first and second pairs at the 

 sides. When a bumblebee enters the flower 

 it spreads apart the arched filaments open- 

 ing the pollen receptacle and covering the 

 thorax with fine dry grains of pollen. 



The marvelous adaptations of flowers for 

 effecting pollination, both by their variety 

 and ingenuity, fill us with astonishment, 

 and occasionally they surpass the bounds of 

 the wildest imagination. The opening, ma- 

 turity, and fading of the flower, the various 

 movements of its organs, the allurements of 

 color, odor, and nectar, and the behavior of 

 the insect guests, which may number from 

 one to two hundred, afford an endless field 

 for observation. Flowers cease to be merely 

 bright bits of color in the landscape when 

 we know their life histories, their rivalries 

 and tragedies; and — yes, their comedies we 

 see as upon the stage reflections of our own 

 experiences. 'I'here is no more fascinating 

 study than entering the secret chambers of 

 these bright-hued floral edilices which 

 adorn our fields and gardens, probing the 

 mysteries which there confront us. But we 

 should seek the living blossoms. 



"Each one of the beautiful flower faces," 

 says Herman Mueller, "which wewere wont 

 to marvel at with a sad feeling of resigna- 

 tion as so many mysteries for ever veiled 

 now looks ui)on us inspiring hope, and stim- 

 ulates us in friendly wise to cheerful perse- 

 verance, as if it would say, ' Only venture to 

 come to me, and in true love make yourself 

 acquainted with me and all my conditions 

 of life, as intimately as you may, and I am 

 ready to let fall the veil that hides me, and 

 trust myself and all my secrets to you. ' " 



Think of all these treasures. 

 Matchless works and pleasures, 



Kvery one a marvel, more than thought can say; 

 Then think in what bright showers 

 We thicken fields and bowers. 



And with what heaps of sweetness half wanton May. 

 Think of the mossy forests 

 By the bee birds haunted. 



And all those Amazonian plains, lone lying as en- 

 chanted. 



But all bee flowers are not one-sided 

 {zijgomorphous) . They may be funnel- 

 formed, as in the gentians, or urn shaped, as 

 in the checkerberry, blueberry, and its al- 

 lies, or even wheel-shaped, as in the com- 

 mon borage, or regularly spurred as in the 

 garden columbine. 



It isaremarkable fact that bee flowers are 

 more often blue than any other color. Let 

 us look at the colors of these flowers in the 

 Northern States. Of 34 species of violets, 

 17 are blue, 4 blue-purple, (! yellow, 7 white. 



Of the 197 species belonging to the pea 



Curt Lundgren, Stockholm, Sweden; eight months 

 old; has never eaten common sugar. His diet has 

 been oatmeal porridge and honey; and from his 

 first hours his milk was diluted with honey. This 

 is great talking evidence as to the nourishing dual- 

 ity In the honey. 

 Hartford. Ct. Ai^exandek I.undgren. 



