34 



TALKS AFIELD. 



" pussies." These " pussies " are made up 

 entirely of flowers which are composed of 



one pistil ! (Fig. 

 42.) Finally, we 

 inquire into the 

 ways of the snow- 

 ball or hydran- 

 gea in the gar- 

 den. Each of the 

 flowers which go 

 to make up the 

 Fig. 42. snowy balls is 



found to consist of nothing but a calyx and 

 corolla I 



How shall we define a flower? It is not 

 essential that any flower have showy colors, 

 or sepals, or petals, or stamens, or pistils. 

 And we might even take exception to Web- 

 ster's careful definition that the flower is 

 "that part of a plant which is destined to 

 produce seed," for the flowers of the culti- 

 vated snow-ball and the outer ones on the 

 heads of all sunflowers and the stamen- 

 flower of the willow cannot produce seeds. 

 This definition may be regarded as in the 

 main correct, however, and the so-called 

 neutral flowers are to be looked upon as 

 anomalies. Outside the sunflower family 



