226 Introduction to Botany. 



cally back again, however, as soon as it is set free. Conse- 

 quently the weight of the bee helps it in creeping in, since 

 it assists in pressing down the sepal. If one consider the 

 case reversed, — namely, that the sepal could not be pressed 

 down while the style could be bent upward, — then the bee 

 would have more trouble, for its weight would be of no 

 help and it would need its whole strength to press back 

 the style. Now when the bee has crept through the 

 entrance, the sepal again springs upward and the space 

 between it and the style becomes less, as it was when the 

 bee crept in. Then, when directed by the inner part of 

 the nectar guide, it creeps down to the nectary, the sepal 

 presses the bee against the style, consequently against the 

 anther lying close to this, and so the bee rubs the pollen 

 clean off with its hairy back. After it has removed with 

 outstretched tongue the nectar obtainable here, the bee 

 backs upward and out of the flower. In doing this it is 

 pressed by the sepal against the stigma lobe (which occurs 

 on the style where the sepal is close to it), however not 

 against its upper but its under side, and therefore without 

 consequence to pollination. After the bee has crept from 

 this third part of the flower it flies to one of the remaining 

 two. In creeping in it is pressed by the sepal against the 

 style so that it rubs hard against the stigma lobe with its 

 back, and thus it transfers the pollen from its back to the 

 upper surface of the stigma lobe, which is the truly stig- 

 matic part, and fertilizes the second third of the flower, 

 or that cell of the ovary which corresponds to this third. 

 In this manner the bee flies from one third of the flower 

 to another, and from one flower to another, and fertilizes 

 them with the pollen which it has taken from the third or 

 from the flower last visited." 



Since Sprengel's observations were made it has been 



