On Flowers and Insects. 149 



locked together. The action of the bee, however, 

 puts an end to this ; the flower explodes, and thus 

 dusts the bee with pollen. 



It would, however, take too long to refer to the 

 various interesting arrangements by which cross- 

 fertilisation is secured in this great order of plants. 



3. It is, indeed, impossible not to be struck by the 

 marvellous variety of contrivances found among 

 flowers, and the light thus thrown upon them, by 

 the consideration of their relations to insects. 



I must now call your attention to certain very 

 curious cases, in which the same species has two or 

 more kinds of flowers. Probably in all plants the 

 flowers differ somewhat in size, and I have already 

 mentioned some species in which these differences 

 have given rise to two distinct classes of flowers, one 

 large and much visited by insects, the other small 

 and comparatively neglected. In other species as, 

 for instance, in some of the Violets these differ- 

 ences are carried much further. The smaller flowers 

 have no smell or honey, the corolla is rudimen- 

 tary, and, in fact, an ordinary observer would not 

 recognise them as flowers at all. Such small 

 flowers are already known to exist in about 5 

 genera. Their object probably is to secure, with 

 as little expenditure as possible, the continuance 

 of the species in cases when, from unfavourable 

 weather or other causes, insects are absent ; and 

 under such circumstances, as scent, honey, and 

 colour would be of no use, it is an advantage to the 



