THE WIND AND THE FLOWERS 165 



stigmas but seeds enclosed in a case or pericarp, and 

 hence called "angiospermous" flowers, as in the 

 birch, cat-tail, dock and others. 



There is a lofty independence and majestic op- 

 timism about the great pines which fling opulently 

 their pollen to the breeze, hundreds of feet above the 

 loftiest flights of earth-born insects. Let us see how 

 the pollen sometimes reaches its destination. 



PINE CONE 

 (a) Staminate Form; (b) Anther; (c) Pollen Grain 



In the spring the pines put forth new growth, 

 and at the tips of the tender branches appear little 

 cones — shown in the two sketches. The staminate 

 cones are the smaller and more numerous. The 

 overlapping scales of these cones are each a stamen. 



