SEEDS 57 



has an ovary at its base which will bear the seeds. A flower 

 may have brightly colored petals, but these are not directly neces- 

 sary for seed production. 



Fig. 11. Section of typical flower. P, Petal, all the petals taken together is the 

 corolla. S, Sepal, the sepals taken together is the calyx. ST, Stamen, the male 

 part of the flower; AN, the pollen producing part or anther; FI, the filament or 

 thread-like portion. PI, Pistil, the female part of the flower. STI, its sticky stigma 

 which receives the pollen; O, the ovary which bears the seeds. R, Receptacle, a 

 portion often making part of a fruit. 



For every seed which grows in a seed pod at least one pollen 

 grain must have landed upon the pistil. In the orchid, in which 

 thousands of seeds are produced, thousands of pollen grains must 

 lodge upon the pistil. 



Some plants do not need to be crossed or pollinated; as ex- 

 amples, Beans, Sweet Peas and such flowers are so constituted that 

 the pollen is shed on the pistil and seed is formed. In the Cucum- 

 bers and Squashes certain flowers are male and others are female. 

 (See fig. 12.) No seed is produced unless the wind, a bee or a man 

 places some pollen from the male flower upon the pistil of the female. 

 In other words, the flowers which some persons have called sterile 

 flowers in the Cucumber are just as essential as the other flowers. 

 In the Corn plant the pollen is produced by the tassel and falls on 

 the silks; any silk which does not receive a grain of pollen fails to 

 produce a kernel of Corn. 



When the grower notices a particularly superior plant, let us 

 say a fine Cyclamen of good color and excellent habit, the best 

 method is to take some pollen from one flower and place it on the 



