116 FIRST STUDIES IN PLANT LIFE 



for her.* The bee alights on the wings which are 

 pressed down by her weight on to the keel. This 

 causes the keel to unlock itself from the wings with a 

 jerk, and the stamens to spring up suddenly out of the 

 keel like Jack-in-the-box. As they rise, the pollen- 

 dust explodes over the bee. Since the keel and the 

 wings cannot lock themselves together again, a flower 

 that has exploded looks quite different from one that 

 is still locked. When no bee comes, the flower seems 

 to be able to burst open of itself. This explosion 

 may carry pollen to the pistil of the exploding 

 blossom or to some other flower on the same bush. 

 The explosion may be necessary also in order to let in 

 air and light to help the pod to ripen, t 



12. Another pea-flower — white clover. And 



now we must stoop for a moment over this patch of 

 white clover, for we have here a flower quite as 

 wonderful as the gorse flower. Being very small, the 

 flowers are bunched together in a cluster, and thrust 

 upon a long flower-stalk so as to make a good show 

 when the bees are wanted. When you smeU the 

 clover-scent, and remember that the bees have a keen 

 sense of smell, and when you taste the delicious 

 clover-honey, you will understand why the bees are so 

 fond of the clover-flower. Look with your lens at 

 one of the little flowers, and you will see that it is a 

 complete pea-flower, with a very pretty calyx, and 



* The gorse is not a favourite of the bees who seem to visit it only wheu 

 other flowers fail. 



t More observations seem to be needed as to the part that insects play 

 in the fertilisation of this and other Leguminoste. In some flowers of this 

 family the seed-cases seem to be self-fertilised before the flower becomes 

 accessible to insects through the raising of the standard. 



