124 FIBST STUDIES IN PLANT LIFE 



more interesting to man.* Take away from the 

 flowers the form, the colour, the scent that they owe 

 to the insects, and how much of the wonder and 

 beauty of the world would be lost ! It is quite possible 

 that, as hive bees become more plentiful in Australia, 

 some of our wild flowers may become larger and gayer 

 than they are to-day. 



Questions and Exercises : — 



(1) AVhy are most of the flowers that invite night-flying moths 

 white or yellow ? Why are they generally heavily scented ? 



(2) Look for the honey-guide lines in ivy-pelargonium, gladiolus 

 nasturtium and in many other flowers. 



(3) It is said that Australian flowers have no scent. Can you 

 name any of our flowering-plants that are fragrant in leaf or 

 bloom ? Any shrubs or trees ? 



(4) Bite the honey-spur of the nasturtium. Name any other 

 flowers with honey -spurs. 



(5) Count the kinds of plants with yellow flowers that you meet 

 in a spring walk. Compare with flowers of other colours. Note 

 the colour of the plants that are most abundant. 



(6) Some plants, like the sorrel-weed (sour-grass) cause patches 

 of colour that can be seen and recognised a long way off. Name 

 any other plants in your district tliat cause colour-patches of this 

 kind. 



(7) The red and yellow tints on some young gum trees are as 

 beautiful as coloured flowers. Tell of any other leaves whose 

 colours you have admired. 



Composition Exercise ; — Try to imagine what a garden would 

 be like if insects had never visited flowers. Describe it. 



Drawing Exercise : — Draw any flower that has a special 

 honey-tube. 



* It is when in contact with higher !i/e— the life of the insect and the Uf e 

 of man— that plant life shows its greatest beauty. We have here a most 

 suggestive thought. 



