How the Flowers M^oo the Insects 



which thus crush the weak and protect the strong, 

 are more just than merciful. It is true that any 

 breach of contract between flower and insect, espe- 

 cially if it is persisted in, is frequently punished with 

 death to the offending one ; but this is the extreme 

 penalty, which is often modified, as we shall learn. 



STAMEX AXn riS'l'JL LESSONS 



The stamens as well as the nectary have a lesson 

 to teach. The function of the stamens, as you know, 

 is the secretion of pollen. This function, however, 



STAMENS 



has no reference whatever to the external form of 

 the stamen. Why, then, do we find such remark- 

 able divergence as is here pictured ? Another in- 

 stance of adaptation to an insect ? Yes. But the 

 reason for this adaptation is somewhat different from 

 that which caused the nectaries to vary. 



The stamens differ in order to insure the transfer 

 of their pollen. The variety of methods employed 

 by flowers in loading their insect messengers with 

 pollen is beyond belief. Each method requires 



25 



