MEADOW SAGE. 24 



pratensis, but smaller, with the flowers more inclined to purple. 

 The Sage of the kitchen-garden is S. officinalis ; not a native 

 plant. The name Salvia is from the Latin Salvo, to save or 

 heal, from its former great repute in medicine. 



Most labiate flowers produce honey from the base of the 

 ovary ; and this, of course, is a distinct bribe to insects to visit 

 them. It would not be an economical arrangement for a flower 

 to provide honey for all comers without the plant getting a quid 

 pro quo ; we therefore find all sorts of " dodges " to ensure a 

 service being done by the honey-seeker. As we have shown 

 in the Bugle, the anther and stigma occupy the arch of the 

 upper lip. As a rule the ripe anthers first occupy the foremost 

 position, so that if a bee alights on the lower lip and pushes 

 into the corolla for the honey his hairy back will brush off the 

 pollen from the anthers. After the honey is shed the stigmas 

 come forward and occupy the former position of the anthers. 

 Should a bee that has got dusted with pollen at an earlier 

 flower now pay a visit the stigmas will collect some pollen 

 from his back and the ovules become fertilized. This is the 

 general plan in the order Labiatae, but there are modifications 

 in each genus. 



Annual Meadow-grass (Poa annua\ and 

 Cock's-foot-grass (Dactylis glomerata). 



In describing the Wall Barley we gave a general idea of the 

 structure of grass flowers, and those of Poa are very similar to 

 those of Hordeum j but the flower-cluster (inflorescence) is very 

 different. In Hordeum (which see) this is a spike, bearing 

 many three-flowered spikelets on each side. In Poa it is more 

 branched and diffuse, and is called a panicle. In P. annua the 

 branches grow two together, and are branched again. The 

 spikelets are not awned as in Hordeum. There are eight 

 British species of Poa, which, however, we have not space to 



