THE FLOWER AND ITS PARTS .-— 99 
The outer row of these two is composed of- very 
curiously modified leaves, which we call stamens. This 
means “threads,’ and it will give you a general idea 
of the ordinary stamen, although they vary very much in 
different flowers. But, generally speaking, we may liken 
them to walking-sticks with knobs of very various shapes 
at the tops. The supporting part, which is a delicate 
pillar of tissue, corresponding to the leaf-stalk, from 
which it has been modified, is called the filament, or 
thread, The knob is always called the anther, meaning 
“flowery,” and this is not altogether inappropriate, for 
the stamens are essential to the completed flower. Some- 
times the middle of the anther is attached at right- 
angles to the top of the thread; sometimes it is fastened 
perpendicularly to the top; and sometimes it hangs down 
from the sumiit of the filament. In the common Sage 
the anthers are arranged in pairs, joined by a thick band 
of tissue, and are set like a dumb-bell upon the summit 
of the filament. There are just as many varieties of the 
filament. Sometimes we find stamens, as we also find 
some leaves, without any stalk at all. Then the anthers 
are set low down, right on the top of the flower-stalk, 
and are said to be sessile, or sitting. Sometimes all the 
threads are attached to the petals for most of their 
course, as in the Primrose, or the filaments may all be 
joined together, forming an inner tube, with the anthers 
of course at the top, upon the rim. In spite of all these 
variations, one cannot fail to recognise stamens; but one 
word of caution is necessary. There are such things as 
incomplete stamens, 7.e. without anthers. These anthers 
are the modified blades of the leaves, and sometimes 
stamens only develop the leaf-stalks. Such stamens are 
of course useless for the purpose of reproduction, but 
