ARTIFICIAL FERTILISATION. 283 



in such a manner that the insects fertilise them with pollen brought 

 from another plant." The italics are mine. 



Whilst I am writing I have before me in the garden the white 

 Arum lily (Arum africanus). A few weeks ago its white pollen 

 was eagerly sought for by bees. At the same time the broad beans 

 were in full bloom. These, too, were an attractive foraging ground 

 for the same insects. Since then the peach-trees have burst into 

 flower, with the result that the first-named is entirely forsaken, 

 and the second receiving only an occasional visit. Have the bees 

 gone to the peach-trees because of their attractive colours ? Not 

 a bit of it. . While the peaches are in flower so are the willows 

 {Salix hahylonicd) just throwing out their catkins. The bees are 

 now bringing in pollen of two colours, one creamy white and the 

 other somewhat of an orange tint. I note that in this (Stanmore) 

 ■district there are roses, marigolds, Arum lilies, and other attrac- 

 tive flowers in full bloom, but- few bees are visiting them. The 

 pollen is coming from the willows and peach-trees. There is also 

 honey from the latter. The flowers (catkins') on the willow 

 are so inconspicuous that a large number of people are ignorant 

 of the fact that they are phanerogamic ; yet they are as attractive 

 to the bees as the gaudy peach blooms. A few days ago I visited 

 the Sydney Botanic Gardens. At the time of my visit the most 

 attractive beds" of flowers were daisies, pansies, anemones, and the 

 turban ranunculus. Nothing in the Gardens was more showy than 

 these latter, yet no bee visited them. Near was a shrub (Buxus 

 sempervirem) in which there was a constant hum. What was the 

 ■cause ? Hidden among ;the foliage there were some small greenish 

 flowers, supplying abundance of bee food. If colour had been 

 their guiding star they would never have found it in the shrub — 

 they would have searched the ranunculus beds; and there they 

 would have searched in vain. But who will say the attractive 

 colour was not there ? 



When I found the bees had forsaken the Arum lilies and 

 broad-beans for the peach and willow trees, I tried to induce tnem 

 to return to the first-named by offering them large bribes. I 

 •covered the essential organs of the lily with pure honey; but no 

 bee visited them, and finally the bribe was carried away by ants. 



It is more than doubtful if bees are attracted to flowers by 

 their colours. Bees can distinguish colours and objects. The tests 

 supplied by Sir John Lubbock on this point are interesting, but 

 do not go to show that the bees a.re attracted by the colours in 

 flowers. He says "bees have played a very important part in the 



