PLANTS AND HOW THEY GKOW 99 



The Corn Flowers. Every plant must have its 

 flowers with their stamens and pistil, but the sta- 

 mens and pistil are not always together in the same 

 flower. Examine a cornstalk as it grows. The 

 tassel is the stamen, or father flower, with its yellow 

 dust, or pollen; and the ear is the pistil, or mother 

 flower. If the pollen does not fall from the tassel 

 on the silks of the ear to fertilize the ear, there will 

 not be a grain of corn on the cob. 



Carrying the Pollen. The corn is only one of 

 many plants that have their male and female flowers 

 separate. Such plants depend partly upon the wind 

 to carry the pollen from the father flower to the 

 pistil where the new seed is to grow. Some plants 

 depend upon insects to carry the pollen for them. 

 So these plants have developed bright colored 

 flowers that the insects can easily see. They also 

 secrete a sweet food, or nectar, to reward the in- 

 sects for their trouble. They hold out bright red 

 and yellow and blue petals and say to the insects, 

 **Here you can get good honey.'' 



Night Workers. Some plants depend upon in- 

 sects that fly only at night to carry their pollen. 

 These plants do not have bright flowers, because 

 colors cannot be seen well in the darkness. They 

 have white flowers; and to aid the insects in finding 

 them they have a strong, sweet odor or fragrance 

 that guides their friends. The insects come from 

 far and near for the sweets. They brush against 

 the stamens and get covered with yellow pollen dust. 



