MORE MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 127 



much cultivated accordingly in hothouses and 

 conservatories. It would be quite impossible 

 for me to give you any account of the infinite 

 devices invented by these plants to secure 

 insect-fertilisation ; and even the structure of 

 the flower is so extremely complex that I can 

 hardly undertake to describe it to you intel- 

 ligibly; but I will give you such a brief state- 

 ment of its chief peculiarities as will enable you 

 to see how highly it has been specialised in 

 adaptation to insect visits. 



The ovary in orchids is inferior, and curiously 

 twisted. It supports six perianth-pieces, three 

 of which are sepals, often long and very hand- 

 some ; while two are petals, often arching like a 

 hood over the centre of the flower. The third 

 petal, called the lip, is quite different in shape 

 and appearance from the other two, and usually 

 hangs down in a very conspicuous manner. 

 There are no visible stamens, to be recognised 

 as such ; but the pollen is contained in a pair 

 of tiny bags or sacks, close to the stigma. It 

 is united into two sticky club-shaped lumps, 

 usually called the pollen-masses (Fig. 22). In 

 other words, the orchids have got rid of all their 

 stamens except one, and even that one has united 

 with the stigma. 



I will only describe the mode of fertilisation 

 of one of these plants, the common English 

 spotted orchis ; but it will suffice to show you 

 the extreme ingenuity with which members of 

 the family often arrange their matrimonial 

 alliances. The spotted orchis has a long tube 

 or spur at the base of its sepals (Fig. 22, ri), and 



