PERFECT FLOWERS 45 



of pollen, and perfectly adapted to the task of carry- 

 ing it to the stigmas of other flowers. 



Watch and you will be charmed to see flowers 

 and butterflies working in perfect unison, with a 

 singular rhythm, like the parts of a finely adjusted 

 mechanism, or like some clever musician adroitly 

 manipulating the keys of his instiniment. The 

 yellow tiger swallow-tail butterfly, the clear-wing 

 or Sphynx moth, and the humming-bird are fre- 

 quent visitors to the azalea. The pink azalea oc- 

 curs in Japan, and according to a print from there 

 it seems identical to the pink azalea of America. 

 The flame azalea, one of our most gorgeous flowers, 

 was discovered in the Alleghanies, and flourishes 

 under cultivation. It has little or no fragrance, but 

 its colour and nectar attract especially the tiger 

 swallow-tail butterfly. The fact should be noted 

 that insects often show a preference for flowers 

 whose colour resembles their own, a circumstance 

 which later will be more fully discussed. 



White or Clammy Azalea — Rhododendron viscosum 



This blooms in June and July and sends forth 

 a rich and heavy fragrance, doubtless to attract the 

 night-moths. Outside the corolla tubes it has a 

 sticky, hairy coating to keep away creeping insects. 



