226 THE FLOWER 



established terms, which would now be misleading because 

 they were founded upon false assumptions. This has led to 

 a most unfortunate confusion in botanical terminology, the 

 compensation for which lies in the hope that as investi- 

 gation brings new truths to light greater clearness and 

 certainty will grow out of the temporary disorder. 



FIELD WORK 



Look for examples of transition from one organ to another. These 

 are particularly apt to occur in the so-called double flowers of the 

 garden, and in those generally that have any of their organs indefinitely 

 multiplied. Examine bracts and bud scales of different kinds, the car- 

 pellary leaves of leaflike follicles, such as those of the Japan varnish 

 tree, milkweeds, columbine, and all sorts of vegetable monstrosities, 

 which will generally be found to result from transformations of some 

 sort. Study the numerical plan of some of the commonest flowers of 

 your neighborhood ; note the arrangement and consolidation of their 

 organs, and determine their relative place in the evolutionary scale. 



Make a list of all the outdoor plants, both wild and cultivated, that 

 are found blooming in your neighborhood, keeping a record of the 

 earliest specimens of each as you find them. The best way is to keep a 

 sort of daily calendar, and at the end of each month give a summary of 

 all the species found in bloom during that period. In this way a fairly 

 complete annual record of the flowering time of the different plants for 

 that vicinity will be obtained. The record should be kept up the whole 

 year round. Don't stop in winter, but go straight on through the coldest 

 as well as the hottest season, and you will make some surprising dis- 

 coveries, especially if the record is kept up year after year. Give the 

 common name of each plant, adding the botanical one if you know it. 

 Any facts that you may know or may discover in regard to particular 

 plants, such as their medicinal or other uses, their poisonous or edible 

 properties, the insects that visit them, and in the case of weeds, their 

 origin and introduction, will greatly enhance the interest and value 

 of the record. 



POLLINATION 



MATERIAL. This subject must be studied in the field and garden ; 

 no special directions for seeking material are needed. 



330. Prevention of Self-Pollination. The most interest- 

 ing chapter in the history of plant life is that relating to 

 the conveyance of pollen from the anther to the stigma. 



