128 



THE STORY OF THE PLANTS. 



this spur contains abundant honey. The pollen- 

 masses are neatly lodged in two little sacks or 

 pockets near the stigma, and are so placed that 

 their lower ends come against the bee's head as 

 he sucks the honey. These lower ends (r) are 

 gummy or viscid, and if you press a straw or 

 the point of a pencil against them, the pollen- 

 masses gum themselves to it naturally, and 

 come readily out of their sacks as you withdraw 

 the pencil (Fig. 23), In the same way, when 



I P 



FIG. 23. POLLEN-MASSES OF AN OBCHID, WITH- 

 DRAWN ON A PENCIL. In I, they have just 

 been removed. In II, they have dried and 

 moved forward. 



the bee presses them with his head, the pollen- 

 masses stick to it, and he carries them away with 

 him as he leaves the flower, Just at first, the 

 pollen-masses stand erect on his forehead; but as 

 he flies through the air, they dry and contract, 

 so that they come to incline forward and out- 

 ward. By the time he reaches another plant 

 they have assumed such a position that they 

 are brought into contact with the stigma as he 

 sucks the honey. But the stigma is gummy too, 

 and makes the pollen adhere to it, and in this 



