MARRIAGE AMONG THE CLOVERS 



101 



joint shown in the illustrations, and fall to the 

 ground ; the plant refuses to feed them any longer, 

 because it has now no use for them : but the 

 fertilised female flowers remain fixed on their 

 stems to produce the 

 seeds, from which will 

 spring in time the 

 future generations. 



What, however, do I 

 mean by fertilisation? 

 Well, each pollen- 

 grain, when closely 

 examined under a 

 microscope, looks like 

 a tiny egg, with a 

 very thin shell and 

 very sticky, active 

 contents. As soon as 

 the pollen-grains are 

 rubbed all over the 

 curly branches in the 

 centre of the female 

 flower, they empty 

 their contents down 

 long tubes, which 

 reach at last to the 

 seeds ; and under this 

 vivifying influence, the 



seeds begin to swell and become capable of pro- 

 ducing young plants. The pollen, in short, has 

 quickening power. It is for the sake of this final 

 result alone that the flowers exist : they are pro- 



NO. 5. MALE BEGONIA FLOWER, 

 BACK VIEW. 



