38 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 
the heart of the flowers. But against the crawling 
insect, which comes to take without giving, all plant 
forces are arrayed; for any pollen which the wing- 
less insect may carry from the plant is lost in de- 
scending the stem, or is shaken off in the grass, 
and therefore wasted. 
It is not uncommon to find the nectar or honey 
stored deep in a long, trumpet-shaped tube—as in 
the honeysuckle, for instance; in the nasturtium, or 
the columbine—so that only the welcome guests 
may partake of the feast by means of a long pro- 
boscis, or sucking organ, which has been especially 
developed for that purpose. At times, however, 
even this device is insufficient. Prowling bees and 
insects, unable to gain admission at the proper 
entrance, will bore through the wall of the flower 
and steal the honey within. But in this case the 
plant answers the attack by developing poisonous 
or ill-tasting juices in the fibres of the flower-wall, 
thus keeping the insect away. For every enemy 
there is a remedy: the plant is supplied according 
to its needs. 
Very many plants shape their flowers so as to 
protect the honey against the ravages of useless 
insects, saving it to tempt the pollen-bearers. In 
the common toad-flax, or “butter-and-eggs,” the 
petals form closed doors to a small insect; but a 
