, 1909-08-07

butterfly, the butterfly for the dover. Gould
YOU do away with all the flower the butter
flies would all perish with them, 80 great IS
their dependence on the flowers. On the
other hand, could you do away with Ill the
butterflies a large number Of Towering plants
would die out also, but not oil, Tor many
flowers have other alliances.
Here it is attempted to show By a con
spicuous example what the nature OF the
alliance between the butterfly and the Hover
il. and in what points they are constructed
to render service to each other
Everybody in the West Indies, and IN
many other tropical places, knows the gay
towering tree called in Santa Cruz gt"ht
31hl-auhL, sometimes .tam6oytnt and some
times again by It's botanical name OF POM
ciaaa regja Ohe royal poinciana), a name
which it takes from q former governor OF
the French West Indies, NJ. Polnci. This
fine tree with its bright green ~faathery
leaves, bears, in great punches, remarkably
conspicuous red flowers, which are also rath-
or large, SO that their parts may be very
plainly made out. Hence the flower OF the
Poinciana regia is a capital example to select
for children to whom the different parts
of a flower aud their different offices @re
being taught.
Lou us DGHtu VIZ VIZ '''t 1890
smooth tight little knob it isl The more
delicate parts of the flower, compactIy ar
ranged within, are as safe daring a heavy
tropical shower as is a child IN his fathers
house. But by and by this green outer
covering, the culyx, viii split into five parts,
rot all the way down, however, but leaving
the base still Joined in one. # they we're
quite separate we should call the five parts
the sepuIs, but here we can only say that the
calyx is deeply hve-cleft. We notice that
while the outside is simply green the inside OF
the calyx is red and tt e edgeso It's divisions
are a bright yellow the flower seems so
anxious to have plenty of colour that 1t eX-
acts from the calyX this second service,
although it has already done faithful work
in it's protection Of the growing tioWer-Dud.
It is the inner set of leaves, how ever, the
petals, that are to exhibit and do exhibit
gorgeous colours. What for3 To please
YOU and me? Not IA bit of it. What thenT
Why, to please the butterfly. The petals are
of a brilliant red, Mt least four OF them are,
while the other one, that stands up like "
prince among them I'LL, is b beautifully marked
IN the central part by "a varied cream ground
Bplpshed with bright red. What is the duty OF
this prince of the petals Is it also to please
the butterfly Yes, no doubt but 1t has
more than that to do, it has to guide the
butterfly. We shall see how presently but
in the mean time let us consider the next
inner row, called the stamena.
OF the stamens we find ten, which the
botauists regard rs also a circle Of leaves, the
fIameuts being the stalks and the open an
theirs the blades of the leaves. AS soon as
the flower opens you win see that the
anthers are also open and that they bear
on the inner surface, now exposed, a
great quantity Of yellow dust (the poIIen).
We shall presently see what this pollen
is for, but in the meantime We notice
that the flaments Of the anthers do not, as
IL many flowers, stand apart from each 9th
OF, but they stand together in a close ring.
Hence it seems that they shut in something.
Shall we break in and see ? We shall find
Il tiny space that would be empty but for
tue fact that there arises from the bottom
of the space a stalk ON which stands first
the ovary or seed bag the future pod.
with the long stale springing from it and
ending in the stigma. this stigma being a
shallow little cup surrounded by the tiniest
possible circular-feuce Of short hairs, which
however, is not to be made out without the
Ill. &c lop, Whom wa do make If ont