220 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:5— May, 1918 



Bee, looking for her breakfast. She sees the new scarlet dress 

 on my blossom, and she knows that means there is something 

 there for her to eat. Mrs. Bee does a kindness for me too. Do 

 you see these little yellow specks on my stamens? My sister, 

 Polly Poppy, lives just across the way, and she has some yellow 

 pollen just like mine. We are always anxious to exchange pollen, 

 because it makes our seeds grow better and bigger to have pollen 

 from some of our sister poppies. Mrs. Bee does this for us, be- 

 cause she gets pollen from my blossom on her back when she is 

 getting her breakfast (no nectary in poppies). But at the same 

 time she leaves me some pollen from Polly Poppy, whom she has 

 just visited. So you see the real reason why I put such pretty 

 petals on my flowers, and have the pollen ready for Mrs. Bee. 

 It is just to make my seeds grow in my treasure-box. 



So when the seeds are ready to grow, the scarlet flower petals 

 are not needed any longer, and fall to the ground. Now the little 

 seeds are growing fast inside their little green box, and I am very 

 happy. When they are all ripe and ready to go out in the world 

 to make new poppy plants by and by, what do you think happens ? 

 Look at a green treasure-box. See how the edges are scalloped. 

 Here is a ripe brown treasure-box. Do you see what has happened ? 

 The little partitions beneath the scallops have fallen back, leaving 

 holes all along the upper edge of the treasure-box. Some day 

 when the wind is blowing, go out in the garden and see what is 

 happening to some of my sister's treasure-boxes. See how the 

 stalk sways back and forth — and suddenly, out pops a seed! 

 It is just like a salt-and-pepper shaker, isn't it? Only the grains 

 of salt or pepper are really, truly poppy seeds. Perhaps next 

 summer some of them may be in your garden, and grow into tall 

 plants with many leaves and flowers and treasure-boxes, just as I 

 did this year. Then you can watch them grow, and see if their 

 story is like mine. 



Once a man who loved children very much, wrote a pretty 

 goodnight song about poppies. The man's name was Eugene 

 Field, and this is the song he wrote : 



''The Rockaby Lady from Hushaby Street 



Comes stealing; comes creeping; 

 The poppies they hang from her head to her feet, 

 And each hath a dream that is tiny and fleet — 

 She bringeth her poppies to you, my sweet, 



When she findeth you sleeping!" 



