408 DEPOSITION OF THE POLLEN. 



the cells surrounding the pollen, only a little before 

 their maturity, while, " by a dislocation of these 

 cells, the pollen loses all organic connection with 

 the lining of the anther ; and yet the'se same cells 

 are exhausted of their sap and dry when the pollen 

 is perfect." 



There are a variety of methods by which the 

 pollen is conveyed from the anther to the surface 

 of the stigma. In some plants it is by means of 

 long hairs. M. Adolphe Brongniart states, " It 

 has long been known that the external surface of 

 the upper part of the style, and of the stigmatic 

 arms of comjDanulaceus plants, are covered with long 

 hairs, which are very visible in the bud before the 

 dispersion of the pollen, and which are regularly 

 arranged in longitudinal lines in direct relation to 

 the number and position of the anthers." These, 

 and their connection with the pollen, he says, were 

 first noticed by Conrad Sprengel, then by Cassini, 

 and afterwards by Alphonse De Candolle. " At 

 the period of the dehiscence of the anthers, before 

 the expansion of the corolla, and when the arms of 

 the style are still pressed against each other in the 

 form of a cylinder, these hairs cover themselves 

 with a considerable quantity of pollen, which they 

 brush, so to speak, out of the cells of the anther ; 

 and for this reason they have been named collectors. 

 At the period when the flowers expand, the arms 

 of the style, or stigma, too, separate and curve back- 



