232 



MY STUDIO NEIGHBORS 



that shall touch them. A glance at the two 

 views of this central portion of the flower, as it 

 appears through my magnifying-glass — the honey- 

 horns and sepals having been removed — will, I 

 think, indicate its peculiar anatomy or mechan- 

 ism. No stigma is to be seen in the flower, the 



stigmatic surface 

 which is to receive 

 the pollen being con- 

 cealed within five com- 

 partments, each of 

 which is protected by 

 a raised tent-like cov- 

 ering, cleft along its 

 entire apex by a fine 

 fissure (A). O^itside 

 of each of tkese, and 

 entirely separated from the stigma in the cav- 

 ity, lie the pollen masses within their pockets, 

 each pair uniting at the rim below in V-shape, the 

 union at the lower limit of the fissure. 



With this more intimate knowledge of the 

 floral anatomy, let us now visit our milkweed- 

 plant and observe closely. 



A bee alights upon the flower— the object of 

 its visit being, of course, the sweets located in the 

 five horn -shaped nectaries. In order to reach 



