A FLOWER OF THE PIMA VARIETY OF AMERICAN EGYPTIAN COTTON 



Showing the orj^ans'of reprodurtion. As in most nHMiil)crs of tho Mallow Family, to which 

 the cotton [)Iant helonjjs, the pistil is partly enclosed in a sheath on which are borne the 

 numerous stamens or pollen containers. Pollination takes place on the jiortion of the pistil which 

 extends above the sheath. The illustration shows a section throuj^h theo\ar\', the enlar^^ed basal 

 part of the pistil, exposing the ovules. The grains of pollen germinate and send long tubes down 

 through the pistil into the ovary. When a pollen tube comes into contact with an ovule the process 

 known as fertilization is effected. The^fertilized ovule then develops into a seed. (Frontispiece.) 



