202 THE NATURE AND WORK OF PLANTS 



year. And it may be recalled that after the opening 

 of the growing season in spring there is a constant 

 succession of flowers throughout the summer. This 

 is not an accidental occurrence. Each species tends 

 to bloom and mature its seeds at a time when it may 

 do so to the best advantage and with the least com- 

 petition. Without going into all the points involved, 

 it is to be seen that if all the plants which need 

 insects to carry their pollen were to bloom at the 

 same time, the supply of honey they offer could not 

 secure the attention of the insects to more than 

 a few individuals of each species. As it is, how- 

 ever, every species secures a share of work of the 

 insects in cross-pollination, since only a few species 

 offer honey at the same time, and the seeds are 

 also disseminated with less competition. If all 

 the crops of a farmer were to be harvested at 

 the same time, they could neither be cared for nor 

 shipped properly. 



242. Seasonal activiUj. — It must not be sup- 

 posed that the activity of the members of the forest 

 community is confined to the season in which flowers 

 appear. If a close examination of the community 

 is made in February or March, it will be found that 



