THE VOICES OF FLOWERS. 19 



Thus, the farmer has often been surprised to see a field which 

 has for years yielded nothing but yellow grain suddenly bear, 

 from the same seed, grains of a differently-colored corn ; and, 

 when the surrounding fields have been visited, the cause has 

 been discovered in some distant growth, which distributed 

 upon the breeze those little dust-like worlds of life, the pollen. 

 These settled upon the silken tassels of the yellow corn and 

 streaked the grain with colors peculiar to that distant field of 

 blossoms whence the pollen had floated on the air. It is 

 wonderful that the form of the future branches of the oak 

 should in some way be hidden in the little acorn ; but it is 

 far more mysterious that the pollen which passes from one 

 blossom to another should contain the atoms of matter 

 which will determine the color and shape even of the little 

 acorn itself upon the future oak. What microscope of the 

 philosopher shall discover, within that particle of pollen, the 

 embryo form of the future leaf, or fruit, or seed, which it 

 contains, and which shall be developed upon its magic touch ? 

 Now, it must be remembered that, however excellent the 

 seed may be, the pollen is necessary that other seed shall be 

 produced from it. However imperceptible to the eye, yet 

 this dust passes from flower to flower, from anther to stigma, 

 according to a never-failing law. A beautiful palm-tree blos 

 somed in a garden in Paris, but bore no fruit, because no 

 other palm-flowers grew near it to send forth the mysterious 

 pollen to settle among its petals. But suddenly it shows the 

 signs of fruitfulness. The petals fall off, and the healthful 

 fruit appears. There can be no doubt of the fact; and bota- 



