The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1893-09-08

ofthe buttercups, sometimes in ira nsparent
drops, as in the honeysuckle.
The gaudy poppy, the holIyhock, sunfio "er
golden dalldelion, the blue forget not aud
hosts of theirs hold out their gay signs, which
the insects readily catch sight of as they pass
along in their search for honey.
Would You believe that bees are not only
attracted by bright colors, but actually know
one color from another? They do and know,
too. just where they want to visit.
TIE sweet scents and delicious odors which
comes from beds Of m;guoIette, rosemary,
mint and other flowers, even the SIN Ill flow
ers Of the laurustaus, are guides as true to at
tract the insects as the bright coloring of the
leaves. The honcysuckle is one whose olor
is much stronger at night, the sphinx moth
being its favorite Wis itor, seeking is honey
and Carrying its p'len. If you go near the
find what sweet scent they give out, just as
if they were calling for some of the night in
sects to visit them.
How many white and duIl-.ookns flowers
are sweet-scented, while the gaudiest, such as
hollyhocks, tulips, fox-g:ove and others, have
little or no scent at all. Then there are some
with beautiful coloring and scent combined,
and with graceful shapes, too, each having
their visitors, who do their appointed work in
the world, and perhaps good deal more faith
fully than you and do ours.
There are even greater contrivances still to
secure the insects visits; flowers open and
shut at different times. The daisy opens at
sunrise aud closes at sunset, while the prim.
rose opens when the daisy goes to bed; for
those insects carrying night pollen fl y only by
night, and so with the day insects, who, of
course, only visit the fy~ers they fiud open
in the day.
The whole family of orchards are fortified
in this way. They are all plants of rare beau
ty, most grote:que in shape, tee. Their forms
greatly resemble those of birds and animals.
One species is precisely like the mouth of a
cuttle-fsh, ami others like spiders, in which
the resemblar ce is .quall. strong; and in hot
few species the flowers exactly initiate the
various insects. This is particularly the case
in the butterfly orchid, the flowers are 90 ex-
actly in form and color like gaudy butter fly
Can the likeness be a sort of decoy, do Won
think. to allow the very kind of insects they
want for the fertilzing of the same fl wers9
Very likely it is 80.
But there are seeds that are feltl z.d by the
wind, and thus transported from flower to
flower. They do hot need the insects to help
them, but you will find, " hen that is the case
that they are nearly devoid of scent, OF bril-
liant color-nothing t. demand attention
from anybody, and never for a moment to be
compared to their more gaudy brethren that
are left alone for the insects, without whom
we should not have the feasts of perfumes
and color with which our woods and mead
oWs atoun0 every year, for they are necessary
to the plants very existence. SO we see that
every tint, streak, shape, color, and odor can
De accounted for, and that the distribution OF
all these things over flowers is not accidental.
There are, indeed, strange cUntrivances in eve
ry department Of the natural world, and tn,
more We know about it the more we see what
strorg evidences of intention there is in il all
Every blossom and every creeping insect
brings abundant testimony. TO the existence
and providence of a great Designer and Or
dainer, without whom not only The sparrow,
but even grain pollen cannot fall