blossom Hosts and Insect Guests 



instance, claimed that " honey," or, more properly, 

 nectar, '' absorbed the pollen,'' and thus fertilized 

 the ovary. Pontidera thought that its office was 

 to keep the ovary in a moist condition. Another 

 botanist argued that it was '' useless material thrown 

 off in process of growth." Krunitz noted that " bee- 

 visited meadows were most healthy," and his infer- 

 ence was that " honey was injurious to the flowers, 

 and that bees were useful in carrying it off " ! The 

 great Linnaeus confessed himself puzzled as to its 

 function. 



SPRENGEL MAKES KNOWN OTHER FLORAL SECRETS 



For a period of fifty years the progress of inter- 

 pretation was completely arrested. The flowers 

 remained without a champion until 1787, when 

 Sprengel began his investigations. 



He labored on the work of interpretation for two 

 or three years, and at length his researches were 

 given to the world. In a volume bearing the vic- 

 torious title, ''The Secrets of Nature in Forms and 

 Fertilization Discovered," he presented a vast chron- 

 icle of astonishing facts. The previous discoveries 

 of Grew and Linnaeus were right so far as they went 

 — viz., the pollen must reach the stigma in order 

 that the flower might produce seed, but those learned 

 authorities had missed the true secret of the process. 



6 



