CHAPTER VII 



FLOWERS AND FRUITS 



MOST plants for example, those raised from the seeds 

 sown during the work of Chapter I. if kept under 

 observation, are found to pass through well-marked 

 stages in their life-history. For some time they grow, 

 producing only new stems, leaves, and roots. Sooner 

 or later they begin to form flowers, which appear 

 first as flower-buds, later as open flowers. After the 

 flowers have been open for some time, certain. parts of 

 them wither away, but some portions remain and, later, 

 fruits containing seeds may be expected to be found. 

 Clearly, fruits and seeds are dependent on and result 

 from flowers. Everyday experience tells us that it is 

 useless to look for beans on a bean plant before it has 

 flowered. In the present chapter we shall try, first of 

 all, to understand what a flower is, of what parts it is 

 made, of what use these parts are, and how fruits and 

 seeds are formed from flowers. 



Parts of a Flower. 



Flowers at first sight vary very much in appear- 

 ance ; they are of different colours, sizes and shapes. 



