246 THE HONEY-BEE. 



visit such flowers, and unconsciously effect the 

 essential operation of fertilising them, nectar is 

 secreted near the base of the stamens or the ovary, 

 or in some position which will involve, in the gather- 

 ing of it, the brushing off and conveying away of 

 some of the pollen-grains. It is, indeed, a remark- 

 able fact that fragrance and honey-bearing are 

 scarcely ever associated with plants which can easily 

 be wind-fertilised. Such flowers are, also, for thd 

 most part, inconspicuous ; while those which need 

 the agency of insects to aid in their reproduction are 

 bright in colour, sweet in perfume, and more or less 

 prolific in honey. 



It must not be supposed, however, that even the 

 hermaphrodite, or double-sexed, flowers are inde- 

 pendent of the visits of bees and other insects. In 

 all of them cross-fertilisation, as Darwin has abund- 

 antly proved,^ is a most important factor in the 

 continued vitality of any species, and cross-breeding 

 gives an immense advantage in "the struggle for 

 existence," where the conditions of life are not wholly 

 favourable. Indeed, in many instances, special pro- 

 vision has been made by the Creator against self- 

 fertilisation : in some cases, by the anthers and pistil 

 coming to maturity, in the same flower, at different 

 times ; in others, by the placing of the stamens in 

 such a position relatively to the stigma (or top of the 

 pistil) that it is not possible for the pollen-grains of 

 the one set of organs to fall on the surface of the 

 other. It cannot but be interesting to give examples 

 of these various facts, and so to show the marvellous 



1 For full and most interesting information on this point, vide Cross 

 and Self-Fertilisation of Plants, by Charles Darwin. Murray. 



