Wild Flowers as They Grow 



lips and displaying a lurid mouth and throat when 

 squeezed at the sides with finger and thumb. " Bull- 

 dogs" and "Dog's Mouth" are names in use in 

 some districts, whUe to see the likeness that inspires 

 the names " Rabbits," " Bunny Mouth," and 

 " Bunny Rabbit," one should turn the flower upside 

 doAvn, when the inverted lower lip makes quite a 

 good " bunny," ears and all. 



Now the mouth is kept firmly closed by the 

 tissues just at the junction of the lips acting as a 

 kind of spring ; moreover, the closing is made 

 particiilarly complete by the lower hp having a ridge 

 running round it which fits into a hollow on the hp 

 above. Hence it follows that the centre of the 

 flower is a closed cavity — an extremely rare thing in 

 an insect-fertilised flower, since it naturally t^nds 

 to preclude any possibility of visitors. And, indeed, 

 that is largely the Snapdragon's aim. It desires to 

 eliminate all visitors but one, and to that one alone 

 does it open its doors with a welcome. And that 



visitor is the great hairy wild bee, the humble-bee ; 



134 



