POLLEN 299 



will soon blossom. 1 will give it to you for the fol- 

 lowiim- experiment. 



"The pumpkin is monoecious; flowers with sta- 

 mens and flowers with pistils inhabit the same house, 

 tin- same plant. Before they are full-blown they 

 can easily be distinguished from each other. The 

 flowers with pistils have under the corolla a swelling 

 almost as large as a nut. This swelling is the ovary, 

 the future pumpkin. The blossoms with stamens 

 have not this swelling. 



"Cut off all the blossoms with stamens before they 

 are full-blown, and leave those with pistils. For 

 greater surety, wrap each one of these in a piece of 

 gauze before it is in full-bloom. The covering must 

 be large enough to permit the flower to open. Do 

 you know what will happen? Not being able to re- 

 erive the pollen, since the flowers with stamens are 

 cut off, and since, also, the gauze wrapping keeps out 

 the insects from the neighboring gardens, the pis- 

 tillate flowers will wither after languishing a while, 

 and the plant will not produce any pumpkins. 



"\Yoii 1<1 you, on the contrary, like such and such 

 blossoms, at your choice, to produce pumpkins in 

 spite of their gauze prison and the suppression of 

 the staminate blossoms! With the tip of your fin- 

 ger take a little pollen from one of the blossoms you 

 have cut off, and put the yellow dust on the stigma 

 of a pistillate flower. Then replace the gauze wrap- 

 ping. That is enough, the pumpkin will come." 



14 Von will let us try that delightful experiment ?" 

 Jules. 



"I will, I give the pumpkin \iu over io you." 



