170 MYSTERIES OF THE FLOWERS 



threads, and flies at 

 hazard on the wind. 

 Corn, as we know, 

 forms tassels of 

 staminate flowers at 

 the apex of each 

 stalk, and "ears" 

 of pistillate flowers 

 below. Staminate 

 flowers may be seen 

 in the upper sketch ; 

 and, below, a single 

 flower greatly en- 

 larged. A tassel 

 discharges great 

 quantities of pollen, 

 sending it forth, 

 not all at once, but 

 day after day, as 

 the stamens pro- 

 gressively mature ; 

 and this pollen 

 sweeps through the 



corn patch and lodges here and there upon the 



"silk." 



For each corn silk is the stigma of a single little 



CORN 



(a) Plant in full, (b) Staminate Tas- 

 sel, (c) Flower. (d) Pistillate 

 Flower Cluster. (e) Silk. (f) 

 Stigma. 



