THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 363 



invectives of the old professor of Padua, it became neces- 

 sary to admit the truth of the discovery, for experiment 

 proved every step in it. 



Every person has seen the delicate filaments which rise 

 up in the white flower of the lily. These are the repro- 

 ductive organs. Six of them, the beautiful yellow dust 

 of which stains the fingers of those who touch it, are the 

 stamens. This dust, which is usually elaborated in two 

 little sacks called anthers, is known as pollen ; the German 

 botanists give the anthers the more picturesque name of 

 pollen-ateliers. They are in fact marvellous laboratories, 

 in which the impalpable agents of vegetable life are im- 



172. Pistil of the Poppy. 173. Pistil of the Madder Plant. 



perceptibly prepared. If they are severed the plant dies 

 without posterity. 



Most usually anthers throw off their products by splitting 

 up from end to end. Sometimes they become pierced with 

 holes at the top, and the pollen issues forth like a cloud of 

 smoke. Lastly, in some flowers each sack presents one or 

 two little doors in miniature, opening on microscopic hinges, 

 the gaping mouth of which vomits forth the animated dust. 



In the pollen the exquisite delicacy of its organization 



