26 STRONG DRIXK AXD TOBACCO SMOKE. 



cautiously protected from violent accident or atmo- 

 spheric influences. Plate 4, fig, 29, is a rep)resentation of 

 a horizontal section of the plant through the inflorescence, 

 and the surrounding leaves. In the drawing, the centre 

 or midrib of each leaf, from the oldest to the youngest, 

 is represented l)y the letters a, h, c, and if the convo- 

 lutions of each leaf are traced, the leaves- will be found 

 to be so situated relatively to each other as to form five 

 distinct coverings within which the inflorescence in the 

 centre is. Truly this part of the plant's economy has 

 been wonderfully contrived ! 



When mature, it will be seen that each lobe of 

 the inflorescence has developed into a minute body, com- 

 posed of three distinct parts, ov jiorets (Plate 3, fig. 23). 

 The two lateral ones [a a) are barren, and produce no 

 seed ; the central one is fertile, and consists of two 

 outer scales {h h) with awns, which soon wither aw^ay ; 

 two other inner ones (c/), enclosing a small body, the 

 pistil, to which are attached, at its base, three oblong, 

 yellowish bodies, with slender stalks ; these are the 

 stamens of the flower. We have here, then, a perfect 

 flower with its reproductive organs, three stamens 

 and a pistil. On opening one of the anthers of the 

 stamens, a (fig. 24), there will be found lining its sides 

 a quantity of fine yellow powder. This is known as 

 pollen (Plate 4, fig. 31), and is the fertilizing principh^ 

 of the flower. 



At a certain period of the plant's growth, and whilst 

 the inflorescence is yet protected by the sheathing leaves. 



