BEES AS FERTILISERS. 285 



given. When the corolla opens, the stigma (s, A, 

 F!g- 56), already adhesive and receptive, presents 

 itself immediately over the front lip, and bees — 

 having been dusted by pollen in their visits to older 

 flowers, and in a manner we shall presently see — as 

 they reach in after the abundant nectar (», B), 

 transfer this pollen from their hairy breasts to the 

 sticky stigmatic face. Cross-fertilisation having been 

 secured, the stigma shrinks and dries, and the style 

 droops (s, C), while the anthers (a, B), which previously 

 had been hiding, in a manner which almost looks 

 like humour, in the pouch-like form given to the front 

 of the corolla cup for their accommodation in their 

 moments of bashfulness, now rise into view, take the 

 place whence the stigma has retired, and begin to 

 shed their pollen. How singular that the anthers 

 (a, C) should completely occupy the space over the 

 lip, arranging themselves in two pairs, so that, in 

 getting the nectar, the bees must reach across them, if 

 the flower is approached in front ; while the height of 

 the back lip (bl, B) is such, that it is impracticable for 

 them to steal the honey from behind; and, again, that 

 the fifth anther (aa) is aborted, yielding no pollen, 

 because it normally stands at the back of the flower, 

 from which spot the pollen evidently could not be 

 utilised. As the fertilising dust is carried off for the 

 benefit of the younger sister blossoms, the yield of 

 nectar slackens, and the corolla cup at last drops ; but 

 it does not do so until the flower has gratefully given 

 for others the equivalent of that which it had itself 

 received. The amount of nectar (n) produced is 

 immense, literally filling the lower part of the corolla, 



