THE PLANT AND ITS HELPERS 69 



blossoms secrete, and this will act as a never- 

 failing bait to draw the insects into making a call. 

 The nectaries themselves present a variety of 

 forms, sometimes appearing as sunk glands, on 

 other occasions being grooved, whilst again they 

 may resemble small warts. These processes are, 

 as well, placed in different parts of the flower 

 in the Japanese Lily they exist as grooves on the 

 perianth, whilst in the Buttercup we may find 

 them at the base of the petals. Even the essential 

 organs themselves are nectary bearers, as is to 

 be seen in the case of the shortened stamens 

 of the Cuckoo Flower, and the ovaries of the 

 Antirrhinum and Veronica. 



The showy flowers of the Grass of Parnassus 

 are of special interest, from the fact that in 

 the centre of each bloom an arrangement of 

 hairs gives rise to a curious illusion. Each of 

 these processes presents the appearance of being 

 tipped with a shining drop of nectar, although 

 the knobs are quite hard. Anyone who cares 

 to watch the flowers of this charming bog plant 

 on a fine summer day will see that a large number 

 of flies are deceived into the belief that the 

 glistening points will yield them some reward if 

 they visit the flower. The little insects seem to 

 be quite disgusted when they discover that the 



