94 PLAIN FACTS FOE OLD AND YOUNG 



ital aperture; the style, the vagina, or the conductor 

 of the prolific seed ; the ovary of the plant, the womb ; 

 the reciprocal action of the stamens on the pistil, the 

 accessory process of fecundation. 



Thus marvelous is the analogy between the repro- 

 ductive organs and their functions in plants and ani- 

 mals. Through this one vital process we may trace a 

 close relation between all the forms of life, from the 

 humblest j)lant, or even the mere sjoecks of life which 

 form the green scum upon a stagnant pool, to man, 

 the masterpiece of creation, the highest of all animate 

 creatures. In all the realm of nature there can be 

 found no more remarkable evidence of the infinite skill 

 and wisdom of the Creator of all things. 



In many instances, the action of plants seems almost 

 to be prompted by intelligence. At the proper momeni, 

 the corolla contracts in such a way as to bring the sta- 

 mens nearer to the stigma, or in contact with it, so as 

 to insure fecundation. In some aquatic plants, the 

 flowers elevate themselves above the surface of the 

 water while the process of fecundation is effected, sub- 

 merging themselves again immediately afterward. 



Other very curious changes occur in flowers of dif- 

 ferent species during the reproductive act. The stigma 

 is observed to become moistened, and even to become 

 distinctly odorous. Often, too, it becomes intensely 

 congested with the juices of the plant, and sometimes 

 even acquires an uncommon and most remarkable de- 

 gree of contractility. This is the case with the stigma 

 of the tulip and one variety of sensitive plant, and 

 in these plants it is observed to occur not only after 

 the application of the pollen to the stigma, but when 

 excited by any other means of stimulation. The flowers 

 of some plants, during and after fecundation, also show 



