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THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 157 
Fosteriana exhibit a drooping tendency. Both palms are grow- 
ing in juxtaposition on either bank of the creek flowing through 
the Middle Garden, where it crosses the path running parallel 
to the line of hot-houses, and may be readily recognised by the 
distinctive growth habit of the leaf segments. In the majority 
of instances in which abnornial branching has been noted this 
condition has developed in cultivated specimens. 
POLLINATION OF PERSOONTA LANCEOLATUS BY THE - 
BEE HALICTUS. 
By Miss Aanrgs A. Brewster. 
After careful observations covering several years, I was at 
last successful in seeing the useful visitors to the flowers of the 
Geebung (Persoonia), at least in the case of the species lanceo- 
lata, and from the general structure of the Persoonia flowers it 
is probable that bees are the visitors to all. 
Large clumps of Persoonia lanagolata were found growing at 
Clarence siding, Blue Mts., and on the very hot days of January 
I found the flowers alive with the short-tongued Andrenid bee, 
Halictus sp.: it is a medium-sized black bee, with very hairy 
legs. The bee alights on the flower, and in seeking the nectar, 
it clings to the pole-like style, and as it struggles for the nectar 
the body rubs against the stigma and the style: the latter is 
covered with adhering pollen, and is brushed on to the under 
side of the bee, which causes cross pollination to take place. 
The nectar is secreted by four: beautiful club-shaped nectaries 
just below the ovary. ‘The pollen is carried by means of the 
hairs of the back legs, and the mass is held in position betwéen 
the thigh or femur, the tibia, and the body. I examined the so- 
called “gathering hairs” found on most bees, and found they 
were most highly developed on the back legs, on the tibia. Com- 
paring them with those of the hive bees (Apis) and the leaf 
cutter, Megachile, the little branches of each hair were three 
times as long’ as those on the latter. 
It is interesting to compare the pollen basket of Apis with 
the pollen-holding apparatus of JHalictus. In the former the 
pollen basket is smooth, and broad on the outer side where the 
pollen is carried, and on the edges, is a simple fringe of spine- 
like hairs to keep the pollen in place. In Halictus the‘ pollen is 
