THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



465 



Thus a single fly which lives upon the fig-tree providen- 

 tially secures subsistence and commercial wealth to the 

 greatest cities of the East. 



202. Influence of Insects upon the Fecundation of Flowers. Willdenow's experiment on the 

 Common Birth wort : Artstolochia Clematitis (Linnaeus). 



A tiny beetle, by means of its dainty taste, imparts a 

 similar benefit to Greenland, by aiding in the reproduction 

 of the Kamtchatka lily, the bulbs of which, in the rigorous 



I quite share their opinions ; my travels in the East have enabled me to satisfy 

 myself that in many countries, where they do not practise this operation, the figs 

 are no less fine and abundant. Pouchet, Botanique Applique'e, t. ii., p. 22. 



