9 8 



FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



But this is not all: the other parts of the two 

 flowers differ almost equally. The centre of the 

 female blossom is occupied, you will observe, by 

 several twisted and wriggling arms, the upper sur- 

 face of which is more or less sticky. This surface 

 forms the receptive portion, or mouth of the 

 flower, on which grains of pollen must be duly 

 deposited before the embryo seeds in the cap- 

 sule below can begin 

 to swell and develop. 

 On the other hand, 

 the centre of the male 

 flower, as seen in 

 No. 4, is occupied by 

 a set of very different 

 organs, the stamens or 

 pollen-bags, whose busi- 

 ness it is to produce 

 and shed the fertilis- 

 ing powder. Without 

 pollen to start them, 

 the seeds are useless. 

 In the wild state, any 

 winged insect which 



visits the plant is likely to alight first on the lip or 

 platform of one or other of the outer male flowers. 

 In his search for honey, which is secreted by the 

 plant at the base of the petals on purpose to allure 

 him, the flying visitor dusts himself over abund- 

 antly, though unconsciously, with grains of pollen 

 from the very numerous little sacs which are 

 placed there in a convenient situation with that 



NO. 2. THE SEED-BAG, CUT 

 ACROSS. 



