THE INFLUENCE OF BEES ON CROPS. 261 



secondly, it is adhesive — if it be applied to down or a light feather 

 it will adhere to it ; thirdly, it is porous ; and in the fourth place, 

 it is covered with a lot of hair-like hooklets. These peculiarities 

 in the stigma form important parts in the economy of fertilisatior, 

 taken in conjunction with the offices performed by bees in relation 

 to fruit and the reproduction of plant-life. The style is traversed 

 internally by a canal forming a tube, which is the connecting link 

 between the stigma with the ovary. 



o y. J*. I. 1, Stigma. 2, Style, 4, Ovary. 1,2 and 4 



•£; i M , combined from 8, Pistil, or the female 



f.% u , s] portion of the flower. 5, Anther. 6, Flla- 



-}5. 4. \\ .' Ul / I ment. 5 and 6 combined form 7, Stamens, 



l\t. "■-_. ""•-.jjx gl /*" or the male portion of the flower. 8> Co- 



' " ' ' ' rolla. 9, Calyx. 8 and 9 are the floral 



,, ,.,, , envelopes, and are for the protection of 



8" \.\ ^ ytSUJ //P^s"? the Pistil and Stamens. 



'|\(^^#^ In this diagram the ovary (4) is said to be 



9 ^ &-^=-j ' I superior— that is, above or within the parts 8 



or 9. Whilst the blossom is in bud-form It is 

 enveloped by the corolla and calyx, and can- 

 not be seen until these parts are mature or 

 fall. 



The stamens are the masculine reproductive organs, and, like 

 the pistil, different portions of it receive different terms — the 

 anthers (5) and filaments (6). The filaments are thread-like ap- 

 pendages, and are generally attached to the base of the corolla, 

 and not to the ovary, as in the case of the style ; neither is it 

 tubular. Their office is to support the anthers, and to keep them 

 in their proper position. The anthers, generally two in number, 

 are situated at the summit of each filament. They are of different 

 forms, according to the class of fruit borne by the tree — round, 

 angular, elongated, or sometimes twisted. When the blossom first 

 opens, the anther is usually of a bright colour, generally yellow. 

 Its supper surface is a flat, smooth disc. As the day advances, 

 and the anther matures, each one opens with a longitudinal slit 

 its entire length. It can then be seen that each anther is a pocket 

 or sack filled with pollen — a very fine dust-like flour. Pollen is of 

 a variety of colours — white, red, pea-green, &c, are of frequent 

 occurrence — but the predominating colour is some shade of orange. 

 By watching at the entrance of a bee-hive, different bees will be 

 seen to enter with pollen of various shades, although they prefer 

 to work on those blooms that are yielding the greatest quantity. 

 By taking a piece of honeycomb containing bee-bread, and cutting 

 a cell filled with it longitudinally, strata of various colours are 

 always to be seen. In flowers that are fertilised by insects, tne 

 pollen is usually of a sticky nature. This property is availed of by 

 the bees. By this they knead it into small pellets, and neatly 



