214 



THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK 



and the small lower one is the keel. Within the keel are 

 found the stamens, which develop the yellow pollen, and the 

 pistil which matures later into the seed pod. 



In the small-flowered wild sweet pea from which our modern 

 varieties ha^'e been devel- 

 oped, this whole complicated 

 structure of the flower has 

 reference to the attraction of 

 insects for carrying the pollen 

 from blossom to blossom. 

 The bright petals, especially 

 the upright standard, attract 

 the bee, which alights astride 

 the wings, thus depressing 

 both wings and keel until the 

 end of the pistil comes in con- 

 tact with the under surface of 

 the bee. In the meantime, 

 the tongue of the bee has 

 been inserted into the base of 

 the flower, from which it 

 sucks the nectar, and then 

 flies to another blossom, car- 

 rying pollen with it. 



If you will watch 3-our sweet 

 pea flowers a short time on a 

 bright day, you will see, however, that the bees seldom 

 alight astride the keel of our modern varieties when they visit 

 the flowers. The blossoms are so large that the bees can 

 alight on one of the wings and get the nectar without 

 coming in contact with the pollen at all. Consequently, it 



Typical Forms of Hooded Sweet Peas. 



