Nature's Inexhaustible 

 Treasures 



The method of fertilization ot 

 each one of our fifty native orchids, 

 though based upon one of the fore- 

 W ' g^^"g P^^"^' affords its new surprise in 

 its special modification in adaptation to its 

 insect sponsor — all these various shapes, folds 

 of petals, positions, colors, the size, length, and 

 thickness of nectary, the relative positions of pollen 

 and stigma, embodying an expression of welcome?, 

 to the insect with which its life is so marvellously 



linked. 



There are similar mysteries to those we have pen- 

 etrated concealed within the heart^. of many other 

 of our most common wild flowers, and it is one of 

 the most inspiring fascinations of Nature-study that, 

 while rewarding her devotees with a full measure of 

 her confidence, she still allures them on with an 

 inexhaustible reserve. You may discover some 

 unknown flower, dissect and analyze its parts, and 

 find its place among the genera and species of vege- 

 tation ; but there are strange testimonies beneath 

 its conformation that are still unheeded, even as in 



167 



