Jolt.] FLOWER GARDEN. 45J 



each; they are placed on very short filaments, which stand so far 

 apart that a considerable opening is left between them; at the bot- 

 tom of, and in the very centre of the flower, there are perceivable 

 two germina or seed-buds, the rudiments of future seed-vessels, 

 surrounded by glandular substances, secreting a sweet liquid; on 

 the summit of these germina, and betwixt the two, stands the stig- 

 ma in the form of a little urn, the middle of which is encircled by 

 a glandular ring which secretes a viscid honey-like substance; to 

 this part of the stigma the anthers interiorly adhere most tena- 

 ciously, so as to prevent their separation unless considerable force 

 be applied: it is probable, that the sweet viscid substance thus 

 secreted by the stigma within the antherae, is that which the fly 

 endeavours to obtain, and to this end insinuates its trunk, first into 

 the lowermost and widest part of the slit, betwixt two of the antherae 

 above described, pushing it of necessity upwards: when gratified, 

 not having the sense to place itself in the same position as that in 

 which it stood when it inserted its trunk, and draw it out in the 

 same direction downwards, unfortunately for it, it varies its posi- 

 tion, and pulling its trunk upwards, draws it into the narrow part 

 of the slit, where it becomes closely wedged in, and the more it 

 pulls the more securely is it caught, and thus this heedless insect, 

 as Thomson calls it, terminates its existence in captivity most 

 miserable. 



Mr. R. W. Darwin, of Elston, in England, asserts that, "when 

 a fly inserts its proboscis between these anthers to plunder the 

 honey, they converge closer, and with such violence as to detain 

 the fly." Mr. Curtis, author of the Flora Londinensis, &c, is of 

 opinion, that the anthers do not converge, but that the Hies are 

 caught in the manner first described. This difference of opinion 

 between two respectable authorities, may aflbrd curious observers 

 the opportunity of spending some leisure hours in ascertaining to 

 a certainty which is right. 



Transplanting Biennial and Perennial Flowering Plants. 



If not done in June, you should now transplant from the seed- 

 beds the various kinds of perennial and biennial seedling flower- 

 ing plants, as directed in page 425. 



Auriculas and Polyanthuses. 



Examine your auriculas and polyanthuses; when dead leaves at 

 at any time appear upon the plants, let them be immediately pick- 

 ed off, and suffer no weeds to grow in the pots. 



Preserve those plants carefully from the mid-day sun, which at 

 this season would destroy them, particularly the auriculas, and keep 

 the earth in the pots always moderately moist. 



When any of them have furnished strong offsets, such may be 

 taken off in the last week of this month, and planted in small pots; 

 for about that time these plants begin to grow afresh, and advan- 

 tage ought to be taken of that critical period. The offsets will re- 



