110 PIEST STUDIES IN PLANT LIFE 



we would require to know the full story for ages back of 

 each plant.* 



14. That, then, is one reason why the geranium has 

 " set " so few seeds ; but there is another reason. The 

 weather has been rainy, and rainy weather not only 

 keeps insects from flying, but often injures pollen. 

 Do you remember the year when your pear tree bore 

 no pears ? Well, that was a year when long-continued 

 rains came just as the pear tree was in blossom. 



Questions and Exercises : — 



(1) Compare the honey-store of the nasturtium with that of the 

 scarlet geranium. How do they differ ? 



(2) In tlie nasturtium the stamens ripen first. Later on, when 

 the stamens have retired, the stigma opens and bends down to tlie 

 very place where the anthers were. Explain reason for this. 



(3) Name the chief weeds, like groundsel, shepherd's purse, chick- 

 weed, &c., that thrive in your district. Distinguish between 

 summer weeds and weeds that can live in any weather. 



Composition Exercise : — All our finer garden flowers owe their 

 beauty largely to the visits of insects. Explain this. 



Drawing Exercise : — Draw the flower of the nasturtium, 

 showing the guide-lines to the honey. 



* Fossil records indicate that there were no coloured petals before insects 

 arrived in the world. It would seem, then, that some flowei-s, like the 

 sweet pea, after passing through the stage of insect-partnership, have 

 (without giving up their gay petals) (alien back on self-fertilization, 

 others, while still able to molie use of the insects, can " set " seed with- 

 out them. 



