LARGER FRUIT AND FLOWERS 



them; they have no seeds at the flower base. The 

 Mother flowers always have a little bulb at the 

 base of the petals and these are seed babies wait- 

 ing for the pollen to come from the Father flower 

 to wake them to life. You will soon be able to tell 

 the blossoms apart I am sure. No doubt you are 

 wondering how the pollen gets from the Father 

 flower to the Mother flower. The winds blow it 

 and the bees carry it on their velvety legs and 

 backs. Indeed, if it were not for our busy bees 

 we would have very little fruit in the world. So be 

 sure you never harm a bee. Ants also help a lot 

 and are good friends of the gardener. 



If you want larger melons and squashes, cut the 

 branch off three joints beyond the Mother flower 

 after it has faded and the little fruit begins to grow. 

 You see all the food of this stem will go into the 

 one fruit. 



Cucumbers we treat the same as melons. You 

 can see the tiny cucumber at the base of the Mother 

 flower even before the bud opens. 



I want to tell you of another one of our garden 

 plants that has Father and Mother flowers though 

 I do not believe you would ever guess it. Corn! 

 The tassel is the Father flower and the silk is the 

 Mother flower. Each silk thread is attached to a 



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