Rushes and Sedges 191 



done in the days of old. The florets, like those 

 of the cat-tail flags, have undergone a change of 

 form in connection with changed circumstances. 

 In those sedge-flowers which bear stamens only, 

 the calyx and corolla, no longer needed for any 

 purpose, have vanished utterly away. 



But the sepals and petals of the perfect floret 

 borne by many sedges have had another job 

 offered them by Nature, and have saved them- 

 selves from extinction by acquiring usefulness in a 

 new capacity. In process of time they have 

 become adapted to aid in the great work of seed 

 distribution. 



One of the stateliest of native sedges is the 

 so-miscalled "wool-grass," which is a conspicuous 

 object in wet fields during the latter summer. 

 The large and graceful tassel of bloom is com- 

 posed of innumerable soft, brown lumps, not 

 much larger than grains of barley. If we pick 

 one of these apart, under a lens we shall find 

 that it is a compact mass of overlapping scales 

 (Fig. 52). 



Under each scale is a single flower, with three 

 stamens, and a long, slender pistil dividing into 

 three stigmas. 



By August the stamens have withered away, 



