24 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 



because whoever invented it had in mind the re- 

 lationship which binds together all plants, from the 

 humblest to the highest. 



So in the "up-to-date" writings on flower-lore 

 these little grains brown or golden are called 

 " microspores. " 



Each microspore is a simple cell, a little bag, 

 generally lined with a delicate membrane, and 

 always filled with a colorless jelly. 



Under a powerful microscope the microspores of 

 many flowers look as if they had been daintily 

 carved, like the beads of a rosary. 



On the surfaces of very many of them there are 

 tiny holes, or slits, or little lids, 

 which fall off readily (Fig. 3^) and 

 expose the delicate lining mem- 

 brane. 



The boxes, or " anthers," which 



FIG. 3#. A pollen- 

 grain of the melon, hold the microspores of the crocus 



(From the Vegetable 



split open as soon as the bud 

 expands and shed their golden store. The bee, 

 blundering about inside the flower, gets herself well 

 sprinkled, and, when she flies off, with powdered 

 body, to find and visit another courageous crocus, 

 she will be almost certain to rub off a few yellow 

 grains upon the tip of its pistil. 



