THE INFLORESCENCE, AND THE FLOWER 279 



he must assemble the mechanism again, either mentally, or by 

 reference to another specimen, and study it as a whole. He will 

 then be in a position to understand how the various features which 

 the flower shows may each contribute to the biological end which 

 the flower has to serve. This aspect of floral construction has been 

 lightly sketched in the latter part of the Chapter. It is important 

 to realise that each flower functionates as a whole, just as much as 

 any machine. Each part has its own share leading towards the 

 common end. That end is the production of the germ contained in 

 the seed. The transfer of the pollen is only one step towards that end, 

 and a comparatively early one. It is carried out in relation to the 

 showy parts unfolded at the time of blooming, and thus gains an 

 undue prominence. But the interest does not stop when the flower 

 fades. Fertilisation, which follows after blooming, is actually the 

 central feature, for it initiates the germ. It is a necessary prelude 

 to the nursing of the germ within the ovule. The protection of 

 the ovule meanwhile within the carpel, itself either free or sunk 

 into the tissue of the axis, is also important as contributing to the 

 final result. Not only then should the flower itself be studied as a 

 whole, but the propagative process also ; and Pollination, with its 

 accessories of form, colour and scent, should be put into its proper 

 place as one incident only, though an essential one, in the complete 

 propagative story. 



N t e , — Special attention is drawn to the detailed description of various types 

 of floral structure given in Appendix A. The facts there described will 

 illustrate the preceding chapter. They are placed in the Appendix not because 

 they are unimportant, but so that the description of the reproductive process 

 should not be broken by a mass of detailed facts, however apposite those 

 facts may be to the process itself. 



