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1
136
My Studio Neighbors
·
W. Hamilton Gibson
100
"All
may
have
the
flower
now,
For
all
have
got
the
seed."
With
Darwin
as
our
guide
and
the
insect
as
our
key--an
open
sesame--the
hidden
treasure
is
revealed.
It
is
now
quite
possible,
as
Darwin
demonstrated,
to
look
upon
a
flower
for
the
first
time
and
from
its
structure
foretell
the
method
of
its
intended
cross-fertilization;
nay,
more,
possibly
the
kind,
or
even
the
species,
of
insect
to
which
this
cross-fertilization
is
intrusted.
Let
us
look
at
our
Arethusa.
The
writer
has
never
happened
to
observe
an
insect
at
work
upon
this
flower,
but
the
intention
of
its
structure
is
so
plain
that
by
a
mere
examination
we
may
safely
prophesy
not
only
what
must
happen
when
the
insect
seeks
its
nectar,
but
with
equal
assurance
the
kind
of
insect
thus
invited
and
expected.
I
have
indicated
a
group
of
the
orchids
in
their
usual
marshy
haunt,
and
in
Fig.
4,
separately,
a
series
of
diagrams
presents
sections
of
the
flower,
natural
size
and
duly
indexed,
which
renders
detailed
description
hardly
necessary.
The
column
is
here
quite
elongated,
forked
at
the
tip,
the
space
between
the
forks
occupied
by
the
anther,
which
is
hinged
to
the
upper
division.
This
anther
lid
is
closed
tightly,
with
the
sticky
mass
of
pollen
hidden
behind
it
in
the
cavity.
The
stigma
is
on
the
external
inner
side
of
the
lower
division,
and
thus
distinctly
separated
from
the
pollen.
The
"lip"
is
extended
forward
as
a
hospitable
threshold
to
the
insect.
And
to
what
insect
might
we
assume
this
invitation
of
color,
fragrance,
nectar,
and
threshold
to
be
extended?
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