326 



NATURE-STUDY 



and pistils. The children should now be taught the mean- 

 ing of the perfume, nectar, and beautiful colors. These are 



not meant for us but 

 primarily for the 

 benefit of the plant. 

 They attract the 

 passing bees, butter- 

 flies, and other in- 

 sects. The colors and 

 odors are simply con- 

 spicuous signs that 

 here is insect refresh- 

 ment to be had. The 

 insects in exchange, 

 though unconscious- 

 ly and unintention- 

 ally, of course, pay 

 therefor by carrying 

 pollen from flower 

 to flower. Though 

 there were no hu- 

 man beings to ap- 

 preciate its beauty 

 and fragrance, still 

 full many a flower 

 would not be bom 

 to blush unseen and 

 waste its sweetness upon the desert air, if it did attract 

 insects that would cause cross-pollination. Let the chil- 

 dren examine more closely the way insects enter flowers and 

 how they carry the pollen to other flowers. Consider a few 



Fig. 125. Sweet Pea. 



