THE FLOWBK 



93 



end is all this work ? To make a flower, you say. 

 Now, I know that you mean by a flower the beautiful 

 blossoms of the violet-plant, the rose bush, the pansy 

 and many others. But some, nay most plants have 

 no beautiful blooms of this kind. They flower as all 

 plants do ; but they do it in a way that never catches 

 the eye. 



2. Is a flower always coloured? How many 

 people notice the flower of the ivy ? Not many ; and 

 yet the ivy has a flower so cleverly planned that it 

 never fails to get what most flowers want to get — 

 plenty of insect visitors. Through my window I can 

 see a score of flies, big and little, blue and black, 

 sipping the honey on the ivy-flowers that grow on the 

 fence. Out and in the flies go ; thinking only of the 

 honey, but, all the time, carrying the pollen on their 

 backs from one flower to another. A large fly that 



looks like a bee, but 

 is not a bee, is making 

 sudden dashes here 

 and there about the 

 garden, when, all at 

 once, it stops and 

 settles on the i v y- 

 blossom. Within five 

 minutes, I count ten 

 other flies that do the 

 same thing. One 

 would think that there 

 was some bad meat 

 on the fence to draw all these flies ; for they are flesh- 

 flies, everyone. Ah ! now we have hit it ! The ivy- 

 blossom has a smell like meat that has gone bad — not 



Flower umbel of ivy. 



