STRONG DRINK AND TOBACCO SMOKE. 27 



these pollen granules fall from the anthers on to the 

 feathery stigma {st) at the top of the ovary (Plate 3, o, 

 fig. 24) ; they then thrust out long slender tubes, which 

 penetrate the ovary through the style [st), and there dis- 

 charge a viscid secretion which they contain. When thus 

 impregnated, the embryo of a new plant is formed within 

 the ovary, which becomes in time the seed. After impreg- 

 nation, the stamens wither and fall off; the inner and 

 outer scales of the flower close around the ovary, and 

 become the inner and outer coats of the future barley- 

 seed ; and the barren florets (a a, 23) form, in time, the 

 lateral appendages which help to keep the grains firmly 

 fixed on their fruit-bearing stem (Plate 4, a a, 30). 



Each lobe of the inflorescence having developed into 

 a flower, the process explained takes place simultane- 

 ously, or nearly so, in each of them ; and, in a short 

 time afterwards, we see the green ear of barley Ijursting 

 the strap of the uppermost and youngest leaf, which has, 

 until now, enfolded it. It then bends downwards by its 

 own weight, and is seen as the graceful ear of barley. 



I found the fertilized ovaries to weigh, on an average, 

 one-twentieth part of a grain, and the ripe, mature seed, 

 seven-tenths of a grain ; so that, from the time of the 

 impregnation of the ovary to its maturity as seed, each 

 ovary has increased its original weight thirteen times. 



What particular office do the awns of the seed 

 (fig. 30) fulfil in the economy of the plant 1 Com- 

 paring an ear of wheat with one f»f barley, the seeds 

 of the former are found to be surrounded by several 



