Sometimes the flowers are orange-colored or reddish, but they do not seem to attract the insects much. Nor do they care, for they can easily fertilize themselves, the anthers and stigmas being so close together. They have none of the ingenious arrangements for cross-fertilization that characterize their more fortunate relatives. They are thoroughly degraded plants.
There lives a dodder in Europe which grows upon flax, and so does damage to the flax fields, and I am sorry to say this little pest has tramped his way across the ocean into our flax fields. We do not thank Europe at all for sending us such an emigrant.
As the dodders have nothing to do but suck the juices of other plants and make seeds out of them, you may be sure they set any quantity of seeds to keep up the disreputable race of dodders.
Yet, in spite of the dodders, dear Convolvulus People, let us say to you, as our beloved old Rip Van Winkle says to us, “May you live long and prosper, and all your family!”
Stories About the Geranium Family
TROPÆOLUM STORIES.
TROPÆOLUM HONEY.
