It is almost
pathetic to see how bright and spotted they are inside, that the
visitor may not go astray. Thus we find the chief pollenizers of
the Canada and the Turk's cap lilies to be specialized bees, the
interesting upholsterers, or 1eaf-cutters, conspicuous among the
throng. Nectar they want, of course; but the dark, rich pollen is
needed also to mix with it for the food supply of a generation
still unborn. Anyone who has smelled a lily knows how his nose
looks afterward. The bees have no difficulty whatever in removing
lily pollen and transferring it. So much for the colored lilies.
The long, white, trumpet-shape type of lily chooses for her lover
the sphinx moth. For him she wears a spotless white robe -
speckles would be superfluous - that he may see it shine in the
dusk, when colored flowers melt into the prevailing blackness;
for him she breathes forth a fragrance almost overwhelming at
evening, to guide him to her neighborhood from afar; in
consideration of his very long, slender tongue she hides her
sweets so deep that none may rob him of it, taking the additional
precaution to weld her six once separate parts together into a
solid tube lest any pilferer thrust in his tongue from the side.
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