142 Scientific Intellige: 



long nectary, 



Idry. Hev 



i; and we shall presently g'ne 

 posely so lodged that it can be 



bristle into the expanded mouth of the sloping ridges on the labellum, will not 

 doubt that they serve as guides, and that they effectually prevent the bristle or 

 the proboscis from being inserted obliquely into the nectary. This circum- 

 stance is of manifest importance; for, if the proboscis were inserted obliquelf, 

 the saddle-shaped disc would become attached obliquely, and after tlie com- 

 pounded movement of the pollinia they could not strike the two latenil - 

 matic surfaces. 



" Then we have the rostellum partially closing the mouth of the ii 

 iike a trap placed in a run for game ; and the trap so complex and i 

 with tlie symmetrical lines of rupture forming the saddle-shaped disc a; 

 and the lip of the pouch below ; and lastly, this lip so easily depressed .—. 

 the proboscis of a moth could hardly fail to uncover the viscid disk and adhere 

 to it. But if this did fail to occur, the elastic lip would rise again and re-cover 

 and keep damp the viscid surface. We see the viscid matter within the ros- 

 tellum attached to the saddle-shaped disc alone, and surrounded by fluid, so 

 that the viscid matter does not set hard till the disc is withdrawn. Then we 

 have the upper surface of the saddle, with its attached caudicles, also kept 

 damp within the basis of the anther-cells, until withdrawn, when the curious 

 clasping movement instantly commences, causing the pollinia to diverge, fol- 

 lowed by the movement of depression, which compounded movements together 

 are exactly fitted to cause the ends of the two pollinia to strike the two stig- 

 matic surfaces. These stigmatic surfaces are just sticky enougli not to tear 

 off the whole pollinium from the proboscis of the moth, but by rupturing the 

 elastic threads to secure a few packets of pollen, leaving plenty for otlier 

 flowers. But let it be observed that, although the moth probably takes a con- 

 siderable time to suck the nectar of any one flower, yet the movement o 

 depression in the pollinia does not commence (as I ^"»'^ ^^ ^^^^'^^gco^! 

 pLXan'^d the' poHinia befitted "to strike the stigmatic surfaces, until about 

 half a minute has elapsed, which will give ample time for the ^otMo fly to 

 ^^Mn Darwin subjoins a list of twenty-three species of Lepidoptera, to the 

 proboscis of which the pollinia of O. piiramidalis have been found attached, 



fourofther • ' ' ' ' - -:--.--- „„..„...thre 



.even pairs, an ^ ^^^^^^ .^ ^.^^ 

 ^conh'rt, bearing seven pairs of pollinia, attacnea one oeiore "r'"^ "'■'.""' ,„„„ 

 perfect symmetrv, as follows from the insertion of the proboscis having i>^ 

 guided by the ridges on the labellum ; and he remarks that an un^ortun 

 Caradrina, with its proboscis encumbered by eleven pairs, could hardly have 

 reached the extremity of the nectary, and would soon have been starvea 

 tleath. "These two moths must have sucked many more than the seven ana 

 eleven flowers, of which they bore the trophies ; for the earlier attached poll" 

 had lost much of their pollen, showing that tliey had ^^J^'^^^^^^ ^J"^ e\ery 

 siSexpanded flow"er hi!d ks'^poHinia removTd!'" The 40 lower flowers ot^a 

 spife from Folkstone (sent me by Sir Charles Lyell) actually P^duced 43 

 fine seed capsules ; and of the 69 lower flowers m three other spikes, se 

 alone had failed to produce capsules." And pollen is often found on stig'" 

 of flowers of Orchids which had not their own pollinia removed, ^"i'^ • 

 others the pollinia had been carried away, but no pollen as yet left on in^ 

 stigmas. " These facts show conclusively how well moths had performed tne 

 ofiice of marriage priests." i 



Now, is it credible that aU this admirable apparatus and these well-ensureu 



