nconspicuous. Those which are coloured, say yellow
or white, are of course much more visible and more likely to be visited
by insects. I have elsewhere given my reasons for thinking that under
these circumstances some flowers became yellow, that some of them became
white, others subsequently red, and some finally blue. It will be
observed that red and blue flowers are as a rule highly specialised,
such as Aconites and Larkspurs as compared with Buttercups; blue
Gentians as compared with yellow, etc. I have found by experiment that
Bees are especially partial to blue and pink.

Tubular flowers almost always, if not always, contain honey, and are
specially suited to Butterflies and Moths, Bees and Flies. Those which
are fertilised by Moths generally come out in the evening, are often
very sweetly scented, and are generally white or pale yellow, these
colours being most visible in the twilight.

Aristotle long ago noticed the curious fact that in each journey Bees
confine themselves to some particular flower. This is an economy of
labour to the Bee, because she has not to vary her course of proceeding.
It is also an advantage to the plants, because the pollen is carried
from each flower to another of the same species, and is therefore less
likely to be wasted.

FRUITS AND SEEDS

After the flower comes the seed, often contained in a fruit, and which
itself encloses the future plant. Fruits and seeds are adapted for
dispersion, beautifully and in various ways: some by the wind, being
either provided with a wing, as in the fruits of many trees--Sycamores,
Ash, Elms, etc.; or with a hairy crown or covering, as with Thistles,
Dandelions, Willows, Cotton plant, etc.

Some seeds are carried by animals; either as food--such as most edible
fruits and seeds, acorns, nuts, apples, strawberries, raspberries,
blackberries, plums, grasses, etc.--or involuntarily, the seeds having
hooked hairs or processes, such as burrs, cleavers, etc.

Some seeds are scattered by the plants themselves, as, for instance,
those of many Geraniums, Violets, Balsams, Shamrocks, etc. Our little
Herb Robert throws its seeds some 25 feet.

Some seeds force themselves into the ground, as those of certain
grasses, Cranes'-bills (Erodiums), etc.

Some are buried by the parent plants, as those of certain clovers,
vetches, violets, etc.

Some attach themselves to the soil, as those of the Flax; or to trees,
as in the case of the Mistletoe.

LEAVES