LUTHER BURBANK 
Just as the eggs of the geranium were housed in 
a protective covering, so, too, the corn eggs are 
sheathed in protective husks. And just as a tiny 
stalk protruded from the egg chamber of the 
geranium, so, too, does the silk which protrudes 
from the end of the husk serve the same purpose 
for the corn seed. 
Tear the husks from an ear of corn, and it will 
be seen that each strand of the protruding silk 
goes back to an individual kernel on the ear. 
That, between the rows of kernels, like electric 
wires in a conduit, each strand of the common. 
bundle of silk protruding leads back to its separate 
starting place. 
To combine the characters of two parent corn 
plants, all that is necessary is to dust the pollen 
from the tassel of one on the silken ducts of the 
ear of another. 
And the breezes, as they swish a waving field 
of corn gracefully to and fro—as they play through 
a forest of pines, or as they ripple the grasses of 
our lawns—are performing their function in the 
scheme of reproduction as effectively as the bee 
does when it goes from geranium to geranium 
in search of sweets. 
Consider the simple salt-water cell, as seen 
reproducing itself under the microscope merely 
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