The Golden Rule for Flowers 179 



of which blossom early in the year, often before there are 

 any leaves to interfere with the scattering of the pollen: 

 and they mostly bear pollen and ovules in separate blos- 

 soms, some on the same tree, some on different trees. 



The pollen-bearing, or staminate blossoms of these 

 trees grow together in large numbers, in the form of 

 tassels or catkins, which wither and drop when their pollen 

 is scattered and their work done. 



The catkins of the hazel contain more than a hundred 

 blossoms, having no petals, but ten or twelve stamens 

 each. The blossoms containing the ovules grow on the 

 same tree, but they have no petals either, and are so small 

 as almost to escape notice, for they look like nothing but 

 small, scaly buds, with tiny crimson tufts on the top. 

 These crimson tufts are the stigmas, outspread on purpose 

 to catch the grains of pollen as they float by. 



Pines, on the other hand, have not only no petals, but 

 no pistil-stalks, and not even stigmas either; all that there 

 is of the pistil being the ovary, which is scale-shaped and 

 open, so that the pollen falls directly upon the ovules 

 within it. As the ovules develop into seeds and grow, 

 the scales that bear them grow also, and ripen into fir- 

 cones. 



Pollen which has to be carried by the wind is light, dry, 

 and powdery, and is produced in very large quantities to 

 allow for the unavoidable waste. It is carried far and 

 wide, and the air is often filled with it, especially in the 

 neighborhood of forests. Masses of pine-pollen are often 

 found in America as much as three or four hundred miles 

 away from any trees wiiich could have produced it. Of 

 course, where plants are dependent upon the wind for 

 pollen, they are liable to have a great variety of it brought 



