INTRODUCTORY. 11 



of plants of the higher types is known as the 

 pistil ; it contains tiny undeveloped knobs or 

 ovules, which can only swell out and grow into 

 fruitful seeds provided they have been fertilised 

 by pollen from the stamens of their own or some 

 other flower. The ovules thus answer very 

 closely to the eggs of animals. After they have 

 been fertilised, the pistil begins to mature into 

 what we call a fruit, which is sometimes a sweet 

 and juicy berry, as in the gr,ape or the currant, 

 but more often a dry capsule, as in the poppy or 

 the violet. 



Plants, however, unlike animals, are usually 

 fixed and rooted to one spot. This makes it 

 practically impossible for them to go in search 

 of mates, like birds or butterflies, squirrels or 

 weasels. So they are obliged to depend upon 

 outside agencies, not themselves, for the con- 

 veyance of pollen from one flower to another. 

 Sometimes, in particular plants, such as the 

 hazels and grasses, it is the wind that carries 

 the pollen on its wings from one blossom to its 

 neighbour ; and, in this case, the stamens which 

 shed the pollen hang out freely to the breeze, 

 while the pistil, which is to catch it, is provided 

 with numberless little feathery tails to receive 

 the passing grains of fertilising powder. But 

 oftener still, it is insects that perform this kind 

 office for the plant, as in the dog-rose, the holly- 

 hock, and the greater part of our beautiful garden 

 flowers. In such cases the plant usually makes 

 its blossom very attractive with bright-coloured 

 petals, so as to allure the insect, while it repays 

 .him for his trouble in carrying a\vay the pollen 



