THE STRUGGLE FOR THE LIFE OF OTHERS 293 



butterflies' eggs. These are the eggs of the primrose. 

 Into this casket, by a secret opening, filmy tubes 

 from the pollen grains — now enticed from their 

 hiding-place on the stamens and clustered on the 

 stigma — enter and pour their fertilizing fovilla 

 through a microscopic gateway which opens in the 

 wall of the Ggg and leads to its inmost heart. 

 Mysterious changes then proceed. The embryo of 

 a future primrose is born. Covered with many 

 protective coats, it becomes a seed. The original 

 casket swells, hardens, is transformed into a rounded 

 capsule opening by valves or a deftly constructed 

 hinge. One day this capsule, crowded with seeds, 

 breaks open and completes the cycle of Reproduc- 

 tion by dispersing them over the ground. There, 

 by and by, they will burst their enveloping coats, 

 protrude their tiny radicles, and repeat the cycle 

 of their parents' sacrificial life. 



With endless variations in detail, these are the 

 closing acts in the Struggle for the Life of Others 

 in the vegetable world. We have illustrated the 

 point from plants, because this is the lowest region 

 where biological processes can be seen in action, 

 and it is essential to establish beyond dispute the 

 fundamental nature of the reproductive function. 

 From this level onwards it might be possible to 

 trace its influence, and growing influence, through- 



