STATING THE CASE. 33 



with altogether, as in the flowers of the Nettle, and 

 many others, all of which are unattractive. We 

 may take the flower of the common Vine as an 

 example, because this flower has few other floral 

 organs, and is very simple in its character. The 

 reader will see the squat bottle-shaped pistil occupy- 

 ing the central position, and five stamens grouped 

 around it. The ends 

 of these stamens are 

 swollen into bags in 

 which pollen is formed. 

 At their bases are 

 glands where saccha- 

 rine matter or honey 

 is secreted, to tempt 



insects to visit the Vine Fig ix.-A simple flower of the V.ne, showing 



the five stamens surrounding the pistil. 



flowers. The flowers 



(like many others) also emit a sweet -smelling per- 

 fume which convey the knowledge of the where- 

 abouts of the Vine flowers to any insect that may 

 happen to be on the wing. 



The number of pistils and stamens varies very 

 much in different flowers, but the pistils are always 

 central, and usually green, so that they can be easily 

 recognised. Formerly these organs were regarded 

 as male and female, and the Linnean system of 

 classification was based on their number, position, etc. 



The true flowering plants are now arranged in 

 two groups. Some have beautifully -coloured or 



D 



