98 



THE NATURE BOOK 



petals some little way below. In the 

 other flower, just the reverse will be 

 found ; the stamens are to be seen near 

 the top, while the pistil is quite short, 

 so that the top of it, the stigma, reaches 

 about half-wa}' up. "Pin Eye" and 

 " Thrum Eye" 

 the two fonns 

 are commonly 

 called, and it 

 is a striking ex- 

 ample of how 

 Nature does 

 her best to pro- 

 mote the cross 

 fertilisation of 

 the species. 

 Imagine an in- 

 s e c t visiting 

 one of the first 

 forms, a " Pin 

 Eye," flying on 

 to a flower and 

 thrusting i t s 

 proboscis well 

 down into the 

 tube after the 

 honey at the 

 bottom ; the 

 arrangement of 

 the stamens is 

 such that the 

 pollen would 

 dust that part 

 of the probos- 

 cis which, in 

 the next flower 

 visited (sup- 

 posing this to 



be one of the "Thrum E3'ed " forms), 

 would come just opposite the stigma 

 on the top of the short stem, and the 

 pollen would be rubbed against it. If 

 the flowers were visited in the reverse 

 order, the same ends would be accom- 

 plished, but at a different place on the 

 proboscis. The pollen also, if it is 

 examined under a microscope, will be 

 found to be larger in the case of the 

 " Thrum-Eyed " forms, since it will have 

 to send out a tube that will travel down 

 the long-stemmed pistil ; so that under 

 circumstances like these it is very im- 

 ])robable that a flower can be fertilised 

 by its own pollen. The same arrange- 

 ments will be seen in the Cowslips, Oxlips 



BLUEBELL OR WILD HYACINTH 



and Polyanthus, all of which are very 

 nearly related to the Primrose. 



WOOD ANEMONE 



Growing among the Primroses, and 

 generally in considerable quantitv, the 



Wood Anemone 

 {Anemone ne- 

 morosa) will be 

 found flowering 

 at the same 

 time. It is a 

 near relation to 

 the Buttercup. 

 The flower dis- 

 perses with 

 petals alto- 

 gether, and in 

 place of this 

 has six white 

 sepals, which 

 are very con- 

 spicuous, and it 

 is just as well 

 that they are 

 so, as the flower 

 secretes no 

 honey to at- 

 tract the in- 

 sects. The 

 Wood Anemone 

 has veiy pretty 

 foliage, each 

 leaf being 

 divided into 

 three leaflets, 

 and these again 

 are often 

 divided nearly 

 to the base. Apart from the ordinary 

 leaves, which do not appear until 

 the flower has expanded, may be 

 found three wedge-shaped leaves half- 

 way up the stalk. \Mien the blossom is 

 still in bud, the flower stalk is curled 

 and the bud is protected by these special 

 leaves being folded over it. The Anemone 

 acts as a barometer, for on the approach 

 of rain the blossoms close and hang their 

 heads so as to shelter the pollen and 

 other parts from the wet ; they close also, 

 at evening. The name Anemone is 

 derived from a Greek word meaning 

 the wind, whence the common name, 

 Windflower ; but why it was so called 

 it is difficult to say. Pliny, in his Natural 



