2 8 THE ORCHIDS OF NEW ENGLAND. 



little drops of slightly viscid fluid." " Insects such as flies/' 

 says Gray, " may enter the flower by one of the side openings, 

 and so take a load of pollen upon the back of the head as they 

 pass under the anther, which they would rub against the 

 stigma, since they must crawl directly under it (to get at the 

 hairs\ and, escaping by the opening under the other anther, 

 they would carry off some of its pollen to the flower of the 

 next plant visited ; but they ordinarily go in by the front 

 entrance (even in C. acaule), crawl under the ample face of the 

 stigma as they feed, rubbing their heads or backs against it, 

 and, passing on, make their exit by one of the side openings, 

 which now become visible to them, almost inevitably carrying 

 off pollen as they escape, which they would convey to the 

 stigma of the next flower. The stigma, instead of being 

 smeared with glutinous matter, as in ordinary Orchids, is 

 closely beset with minute, rigid, sharp-pointed papillae or pro- 

 tuberances, all directed forwards," and these comb off the pol- 

 len from the insect. 



All of our five species of Lady's Slipper have fibrous roots, 

 but C. acaule differs in not having a leafy stalk, — its pinkish, 

 veined, and fissured lip being swung on a slender scape. " The 

 stem," as Prof. Goodale says, " is really present, although con- 

 cealed underground and often disguised by assuming the shape 

 of a thickened root." That ingenious but much disputed 

 English writer, Grant Allen,* believes that where plants have 

 little competition they produce, as a rule, such large, coarse, 

 entire leaves as are borne by our Lady's Slippers; but where 

 they grow in thickets or in the grass, as many of our other 

 Orchids do, and the struggle for food, air, and sunshine is 

 fierce, the leaves are forced to become slender and subdivided 

 in order to obtain their share. The variety in the shapes of 

 the leaves of our Orchids will give the reader a good opportu- 



* " The Forms of Leaves," Nature^ March, 1883. 



