262 AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE. 



pack it in the pollen baskets on their hinder legs. The pollen of 

 pumpkins and other members of that family, on account of its 

 non-adhesive quality, they cannot so treat, but carry home in the 

 hairs of their bodies. The pollen of blossoms fertilised by the wind 

 is also non-adhesive. Pollen grains are of various forms, according 

 to the class of plant it is taken from. 



The essential organs of a flower are somewhat akin to one 

 another, and a cursory glance by a casual observer is more than 

 likely to regard the stigma and anther as similar organs and of 

 equal value in the economy of plant-life. Well, in one sense, they 

 are, just as the sexes in animal life are dependent on one another 

 for the continuance of the species of variety. The dissimilarity 

 in the essential organs in a flower is very marked, and their func- 

 tions wholly distinct. The anthers are the pollen bearers, and 

 the stigma is the receiver. It is highly important that the dis- 

 tinctions should be studied, by all engaged in plant culture; and 

 now, as agriculture and horticulture is so spread over the schools 

 curriculum, the attention of all should be drawn to it. 



II. The numbers, or parts, are the same as 

 in Diagram I. but the ovary appears to 

 occupy a different position. In such 

 flowers the ovary is said to be inferior— 

 that is, below or without the parts 8 and 9, 

 and whilst the blossom is in bud is not 

 enclosed by the floral envelopes. In the 

 early stages of the development of the bud 

 the ovary is always visible. I. and II. are 

 bisexual. 



The corolla in many entomophilus plants, i.e., plants pollen- 

 ised by insects, is frequently of an attractive colour, although some 

 are very inconspicuous in that respect. Its office is, while the 

 flower is in bud, protective, guarding the developing essential organs 

 from injury — acting as a blanket. The corolla is composed of 

 petals ; these are frequently detached the one from the other ; 

 sometimes they are united at the base, the tips only remaining free. 



The calyx is the outer protective envelope. If the oorolla 

 acts as a blanket, then the calyx is the macintosh. Like the 

 corolla, it is frequently formed of more than one part. Each 

 separate portion is termed a sepal. It is generally green, but not 

 always. 



The beneficial influence of bees on certain crops, and the im- 

 perative necessity for their location within .a near radius of fruit- 

 trees, demands more than the usual passing glance. The nearer 

 the home of the bee is to the orchard or fruit garden, the more 



