THE PARTS OF A FLOWER. 233 



grow on separate plants, the pollen is often carried 

 by insects, as it adheres to their wings while they 

 are extracting honey. It is also possible that an 

 attraction may subsist between the parts, which may 

 draw the pollen, floating in the air, to the pistils of 

 its own species. The pistil, or pointal, is composed 

 of three parts, the gerraen, which stands at the bot- 

 tom, and contains the embryo seeds ; the style, which 

 is placed on the germen, a hollow tube of various 

 figures and lengths, and sometimes wholly wanting : 

 the stigma which is placed on the top of the style, 

 or, if there be none, on the germen. 



The seed-vessel, or pericarp, is the germen, en- 

 larged as the seeds increase in size. The seed- 

 vessel is divided into nine kinds : — 



Capsule, as in the Poppy. 

 Nut, as in the Filbert. 

 Drupe, as in the Cherry. 

 Berry, as in the Strawberry. 

 Pome, as in the Apple. 

 Silique, as in the Wall-flower. 

 Silicle, as in Honesty. 

 Legume or Shell, as in the Pea. 

 Cone, as in the Fir. 



The seeds, or fruit, resemble the eggs of animals, 

 and contain the rudiments of a new vegetation. The 

 30 



