The Lords and Ladies 



OF THE 



Arum Family 



The most remarkable 

 member of the Arum 

 family is a British subject. 

 Its method of welcome and 

 a2c rcvoir to insects is 

 unique and truly astonish- 

 ing. All of the flowers we 

 have so far examined are 

 more or less automatic in 

 their movements, but the wild 

 arum seems to display almost 

 conscious mechanism. 



A representation of this arum 

 is shown in Fig. i, and a cross- 

 section at A, properly indexed. 

 How confidently would the 

 superficial— nay, even careful — examination of one 

 of the old-time botanists have interpreted its struc- 

 ture : "How simple and perfect the structure! 

 Observe how the anthers are placed so that pollen 

 shall naturally fall directly on the stigmas and fer- 

 tilize them !" Such w^ould indeed appear to be 

 intended, until it is actually discovered that the 



lOQ 



