58 



NATURE STUDY 



While colored and perfumed flowers look to insecis and some 

 lairds for fertilization, that is, to animals which see and smell, there 

 are many plants which depend upon another agent altogether, the 

 wind. Such are the grasses, wheat, corn, rye, oats and the many 

 forms of wild grasses. The inconspicuous odorless flowers of 

 these ma}^ be examined, and it may be seen how their pollen is 

 adapted to be borne on the wind, and how, to provide against the 

 small chance of a single grain of pollen meeting the stigma, 

 immense quantities of pollen are sometimes formed. 



Besides these plants there are the pines, spruces, cypress and 

 the like, the Conifers, usually not regarded as 

 having flowers, which produce immense quanti- 

 ties of pollen in the small pollen bearing flowers, 

 as the}' should be called. Some of the pollen finds 

 its way to the young cones and fertilizes the parts 

 which are to become the seeds. They use the 

 wind to carry the pollen. 



The fertilization of plants by insects has an 

 interest from its relation to the farmer. All the 

 fruit trees depend largely on the insects, principally 

 bees, for the fertilization of the flowers. While 

 the peach, prune, apple, apricot and cherry 

 may have some of their flowers manage to 

 become fertilized without the aid of insects, still, 

 careful experimenting has shown that only a 

 small percent, of the fruit will "set" unless in- 

 sects have free access to them. Man}' who have 

 not understood the habits of bees have accused 

 them of doing harm to both the blossom and 

 the fruit. There is no flower that the honey bee parfoViarsu/coveFed 

 harms. On the contrary, as has been seen, she 

 is essential to many of them. Extensive experi- 

 menting has shown that the honey bee never bites into 



,^-6 



Fig. 31. The pollen- 

 collecting ripparatusof 

 the honey bee, joints 

 of the hind leg. (n) 

 smooth surface of tibia 

 bountled by marc;in?> 

 of stifl hairs constitut- 

 in g the "pollen 



iihrows of stiffhairs. 

 This is the po 11 en- 

 brush. 



fruit 



