THE FLOWER AND THE BEE 



dehisced, although there were a few belated flowers. The 

 white, feathery stigmas were as beautiful as frost-crystals. 

 Early as it was, I found a little syrphid fly eating the pollen 

 from the anther tips ; evidently it had breakfasted here on many 

 previous mornings. 



Quitch-grass, or, as it is popularly known, "witch-grass" 

 {Agropyron repens), is also an early bloomer (Fig. 12), the 

 flowers opening from six to six-thirty o'clock, about half an 

 hour later than herd's-grass. While most grasses bloom before 

 noon, Kerner gives a list in which he enumerates a species for 

 nearly every hour in the day. In widely separated localities 

 and under different climatic conditions there would seem to 

 be considerable variation in the hour of anthesis. Long be- 

 fore noon the pollen of many field-varieties has been swept away, 

 and no change takes place in the floral apparatus during the 

 remainder of the day. It is from its appearance at midday 

 that most persons judge of the inflorescence of the grasses; 

 but it is well worth while to view it early in the morning, when, 

 although not gaily hued, it will be seen to possess a delicate 

 beauty of its own, which will greatly surprise those who behold 

 it for the first time. 



In northeastern America, north of Tennessee and east of the 

 Rocky Mountains, I place the number of angiospermous or 

 true flowers pollinated by the wind at about one thousand. 

 The total number of wind-pollinated species in the world proba- 

 bly exceeds twelve thousand. Besides the deciduous-leaved 

 forest-trees, and the grasses, rushes, and sedges, there are many 

 coarse, homely weeds such as the pigweeds (Fig. 13), ragweeds, 

 nettles, hops, pondweeds, sorrels, docks, plantains, hemp, 

 and meadow-rue. They agree in having small, inconspicuous 

 flowers, which are commonly odorless and nectarless, but which 

 are produced in immense numbers. The pollen-grains are 



36 



