BEES AND FLOWERS. 233 
at the end of the pollen-masses against her head. 
These glands are moist and sticky, and while she is 
gnawing the inside of the spur they dry a little and 
cling to her head and she brings them out with her. 
Darwin once caught a bee with as many as sixteen of 
these pollen-masses clinging to her head. 
But if the bee went into the next flower with these 
pollinia sticking upright, she would simply put them 
into the same slits in the next flower, she would not 
touch them against the stigma. Nature, however, has 
provided against this. As the bee flies along, the 
glands sticking to its head dry more and more, and as 
they dry they curl up and drag the pollen - masses 
down, so that instead of standing upright, as in 
I, Fig. 63, they point forwards, as in. 2. 
And now, when the bee goes into the next flower, 
she will thrust them right against the sticky stigmas, 
and as they cling there t'oe fine threads which hold 
the grains together break away, and the flower is 
fertilized. 
If you will gather some of these orchids during 
your next spring walk in the woods, and will put a 
pencil down the tube to represent the head of the bee, 
you may see the little box open, and the two pollen- 
masses cling to the pencil. Then if you draw it out 
you may see them gradually bend forwards, and by 
thrusting your pencil into the next flower you may see 
the grains of pollen break away, and you will have 
followed out the work of the bee. 
Do not such wonderful contrivances as these make 
us long to know and understand all the hidden 
