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210
The Fairy-Land of Science
·
Arabella B. Buckley
202
Let
us
see
for
a
moment
how
wonderfully
this
flower
is
arranged
to
bring
about
the
carrying
of
the
pollen,
as
Sprengel
pointed
out
years
ago.
In
the
first
place,
it
hangs
on
a
thin
stalk,
and
bends
its
head
down
so
that
the
rain
cannot
come
near
the
honey
in
the
spur,
and
also
so
that
the
pollen-dust
falls
forward
into
the
front
of
the
little
box
made
by
the
closed
anthers.
Then
the
pollen
is
quite
dry,
instead
of
being
sticky
as
in
most
plants.
This
is
in
order
that
it
may
fall
easily
through
the
cracks.
Then
the
style
or
stalk
of
the
stigma
is
very
thin
and
its
tip
very
broad,
so
that
it
quivers
easily
when
the
bee
touches
it,
and
so
shakes
the
anthers
apart,
while
the
anthers
themselves
fold
over
to
make
the
box,
and
yet
not
so
tightly
but
that
the
dust
can
fall
through
when
they
are
shaken.
Lastly,
if
you
look
at
the
veins
of
the
flower,
you
will
find
that
they
all
point
towards
the
spur
where
the
honey
is
to
be
found,
so
that
when
the
sweet
smell
of
the
flower
has
brought
the
bee,
she
cannot
fail
to
go
in
at
the
right
place.
Two
more
flowers
still
I
want
us
to
examine
together,
and
then
I
hope
you
will
care
to
look
at
every
flower
you
meet,
to
try
and
see
what
insects
visit
it,
and
how
its
pollen-dust
is
carried.
These
two
flowers
are
the
common
Bird's-foot
trefoil
(Lotus
corniculatus),
and
the
Early
Orchis
(Orchis
mascula),
which
you
may
find
in
almost
any
moist
meadow
in
the
spring
and
early
summer.
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