140 On Flowers and Insects. 



this connective is upright, so that the one anther is 

 situated (fig. 37) in the neck of the tube, the other 

 under the arched hood. The lower anther, more- 

 over, is more or less rudimentary. Now, when a 

 bee comes to suck the honey, it pushes the lower 

 anther out of the way with its head ; the result of 

 which is that the connective swings round, and the 

 upper fertile anther comes down on to the back of 

 the bee (figs. 38 and 41), and dusts it with honey, 

 just at the place where, in an older flower (fig. 39), 

 it would be touched by the stigma, st. 



3. At first sight it may seem an objection to this 

 view that some species as, for instance, the 

 common Snapdragon the flower of which, accord- 

 ing to the above- given tests, ought to be fertilised 

 by insects, is entirely closed. A little consideration, 

 however, will suggest the reply. The Snapdragon 

 is especially adapted for fertilisation by humble 

 bees. The stamens and pistil are so arranged that 

 smaller species would not effect the object. It is 

 therefore an advantage that they should be ex- 

 cluded, and in fact they are not strong enough to 

 move the spring. The Snapdragon is, so to say, 

 a closed box, of which the humble bees alone 

 possess the key. 



4. The common Heath offers us a very ingenious 

 arrangement. The flower is in the form of an 

 inverted bell. The pistil represents the clapper, 

 and projects a little beyond the mouth of the bell. 

 The stamens are eight in number, and form a circle 



