92 :©otani2 



From snow to snow, from crocus to chrysanthe- 

 mum, we have about us our flower guests. 



" Consider the lilies, how they grow ; they toil not, 

 neither do they spin : and yet I say unto you, That 

 even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like 

 one of these." 



To a close observer every part of the flower has a 

 singular interest and beauty, and is a fascinating 

 study. We said of stamens that the anther or pollen 

 box was generally oblong, yellow, and oj^ening in 

 the centre. This describes the most common or typal 

 form of anther, but in truth, anthers are almost as 

 varied as blossoms in form and method of opening, 

 or dehiscence ; the color also varies from yellow to 

 orange, brown, dark purple, brownish red, and 

 almost black. There are flowers where the corollas 

 are wanting or inconspicuous, and the long tassel of 

 brightly-colored stamens constitutes the chief claim 

 to beauty. Sometimes the stamen is like a little 

 leaf, with dots of pollen sacs scattered over its sur- 

 face, as in the cycads. The long filament may hold 

 the anther balanced at the centre on its slender tip, 

 the whole appearing so frail that even a breath 

 might destroy it, yet holding its own against wind 

 and storm until the pollen is ripened and some 

 insect pollen-bearer comes brushing heavily against 

 it, in its velvet coat. Again, the erect filament 



