164 VANDEiE. Chap. YI. 



down the open entrance into the nectary and through 

 the cleft in the rostellum with no result. It then 

 occurred to me that, from the length of the nectary, 

 the flower must be visited by large moths, with a 

 proboscis thick at the base ; and that to drain the last 

 drop of nectar, even the largest moth would have to 

 force its proboscis as far down as possible. Whether 

 or not the moth first inserted its proboscis by the open 

 entrance into the nectary, as is most probable from the 

 shape of the flower, or through the cleft in the ros- 

 tellum, it would ultimately be forced in order to drain 

 the nectary to push its proboscis through the cleft, 

 for this is the straightest course ; and by slight pressure 

 the whole foliaceous rostellum is depressed. The dis- 

 tance from the outside of the flower to the extremity of 

 the nectary can be thus shortened by about a quarter 

 of an inch. I therefore took a^ cylindi-ical rod one- 

 tenth of an inch in diameter, and pushed it down 

 through the cleft in the rosteUum. The margins 

 readily separated, and were pushed downwards together 

 with the whole rostellum. When I slowly withdrew the 

 cylinder the rostellum rose from its elasticity , and 

 the margins of the cleft were upturned so as to clasp 

 the cylinder. Thus the viscid strips of membrane on 

 each under side of the cleft rostellum came into contact 

 with the cylinder, and firmly adhered to it ; and the 

 pollen-masses were withdrawn. By this means I suc- 

 ceeded every time in withdrawing the poUinia; and 

 it cannot, I think, be doubted that a large moth would 

 thus act; that is, it would drive its proboscis up to 

 the very base through the cleft of the rostellum, so as 

 to reach the extremity of the nectary ; and then the 

 poUinia attached to the base of its proboscis would be 

 safely withdrawn. 



I did not succeed in leaving the pollen-masses on 



