112 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET 
lobe of each segment being distinctly crested with a 
sharp, narrow edging of a rich scarlet-crimson color. 
A striking feature is the peculiar globular-form of the 
bud at this stage of expansion, and the total absence of 
the slender tube so characteristic witli the majority of 
the members of this genus. Looking into the flower, 
the lobe or upper third of the segment is of a light, 
clear yellowish buff, crested also very distinctly with 
crimson-scarlet, and very sparingly dotted here and 
there with fine dots or lines of the same color. The re¬ 
maining inner part of the perianth is of a clear, bril¬ 
liant scarlet striped with darker crimson-scarlet lines, 
darkening towards the throat to a very deep red and 
leaving at the base of the segments a small yellowish- 
green lip, which forms in the expanded flower a small, 
lively green star. The segments are of unusually good 
substance and remarkably broad. The perianth, when 
fully expanded, measures fully seven-and-one-half in¬ 
ches across. The filaments and style are very thick, of 
a silvery-white; anthers, a bright golden-yellow, and 
the stigma capped with crimson. Among all the hy¬ 
brids of this genus which I have cultivated, many of 
which were obtained from the most reputed growers in 
England and on the European continent, none compare 
in boldness, size of flower, and evenness of segments, 
with this hybrid. I enclose herewith a water-color por¬ 
trait of the plaut painted at the time of its flowering. 
Rock Island Arsenal, III. W. O. G. 
INSECTS AND FLOWERS. 
Darwin’s experiments, which he pursued during the 
course of a great many years, are not difficult to follow. 
To carry them out successfully, they require the same 
care and patience that he himself expended upon them; 
but they are neither very intricate nor very costly. He 
thus describes what was his own manner of proceeding 
A single plant, if it produced a sufficiency of flowers, 
or two or tlu-ee plants, were placed under a net 
stretched on a frame, and large enough to cover them 
completely. Thus protected, several flowers were 
marked and fertilized by their own pollen ; and an 
equal number of the same flowers, marked in a differ¬ 
ent manner, were at the same time crossed with pollen 
from a distinct plant. Care was next taken that the 
seeds were thoroughly ripened before being gathered. 
Afterwards, the crossed and self-fertilized seeds were 
placed on damp sand, on opposite sides of a glass tum¬ 
bler, covered by a plate glass, with a partition between 
the two lots, and the glass was placed on the chimney- 
piece in a warm room. As often as a pair germinated 
at the same time they were placed on opposite sides of 
a pot, with a superficial partition between the two. In 
comparing the two sets, the eye alone was never trust¬ 
ed. The height of every plant on both sides -was care¬ 
fully measured. Independently of any external cause 
which could be detected, the self-fertilized plants were 
more liable to premature death; and with a large num¬ 
ber of specimens the crossed plants not only exhibited a 
well-marked tendency to flower before the self-fertilized 
ones growing in the same pots, but produced a greater 
quantity of seed. In his work on the Fertilization of 
Orchids, Darwin has fully described the marvelous 
mechanisms by which cross-fertilization is in almost 
every species there secured; but it is an error to imagine 
that, though their adaptations for the purpose are more 
obvious than in any other group of plants, the case is 
exceptional. The manner in which the anthers of 
Salvia are depressed by a lever-like action, and 
rubbed upon the backs of bees, is equally curious, and 
Muller describes a plant, Posoqueria fragrans, whose 
anthers explode when a moth visits the flower, and 
covers the insect with pollen. One of the filaments, 
which is broader than the others, then moves, and 
closes the flower for about twelve hours, after which 
time it resumes its original position. Thus the stigma 
cannot be fertilized by pollen from the same flower, but 
only by that brought by a moth from some other 
flower. Endless would be the list of similar contriv¬ 
ances, not only to be met with in rare and singular 
plants, but in our own hedges and fields at every turn 
on every summer day; and Nature, whilst alluring 
those insects to visit plants whose agency is necessary, 
displays an almost equal sagacity in preventing the vis¬ 
its of unprofitable or dangerous guests. Insects must 
have a certain size, shape, and weight before they can 
be of use. Some inkling of excluding-contrivances has 
casually occurred to reflective botanists; but .it is to 
Kerner that we owe the explanation of a great many 
floral structures which can evidently have no other 
meaning than to shut out unbidden visitors. Erasmus 
Darwin remarked upon the protective function of the 
connate leaves of the Teasel, but without having much 
notion why the nectar should be guarded. Belt, in his 
“ Nicaragua,” observes that many flowers have means 
of preventing insects from obtaining access to the nec¬ 
tar; and Dr. Ogle, in his preface to his translation of 
Kerner’s work, describes the ingenious protection 
afforded by viscous rings. Stickiness is one of the true 
protective appliances recognized by Kerner; and he 
further holds that the position, direction, and shape of 
the leaf are of just as great significance for the preser¬ 
vation of species as the form, color and scent of the 
flowers; that not even a hair is meaningless, whether 
found on the seed-lobe or the leaf, on the stem or the 
blossom; thus repeating Sprengel’s conviction, that 
“ the wise author of Nature would not have created 
even a hair in vain.” The following process is neces¬ 
sarily exposed to many dangers—dangers from grazing 
animals, from caterpillars, snails, and small insects; but 
ruminating animals, such as cows, are endowed with 
the instinct to a,void the most beautiful blossoms ; far 
from being attracted, they are apparently repelled by 
colors and scents. Kerner, for instance, bids us remark, 
that when cattle are driven to their pastures through 
countless blossoms of Colcliicuni) Parnassia, and Eu¬ 
phrasia, they go along snatching the sprouting leaves 
and grass', and of other plants from among the flowers, 
but never touching the flowers themselves; and in cases 
where the flowers are so intermixed with leaves, or so 
close to them that the destruction of the one involves 
the destruction of the other, even the leaves are 
avoided ! But in the conformation of the flower itself 
