PLOn'EKS IN RELATION TO BEES. 177 



which have names. I will not, however, now trouble 

 you with all these names, but some of them you must 

 remember in order to understand what I am going to 

 say about bees and flowers. 



Well, first of all, take away the white outer leaves 

 of the flower, which are called petals. When they 

 are removed, you have in your hand a small, solid- 

 looking centre, from the middle of which springs up 

 a thread-like little stalk, which, remember, is called 

 the pistil. 



Take notice of this pistil, and examine into its 

 origin, and you. will find that it leads down to a re- 

 ceptacle called the seed-vessel, in which is situated 

 the very tiny thing which, when the time comes, \vill 

 grow into a seed, and ripen ready for another year. 

 At the upper end of the pistil there is a sticky sub- 

 stance called the stigma. 



But now look again at the flower, and around the 

 pistil you will see several other fine, thin stalks called 

 stamens, having at their upper ends not a sticky sub- 

 stance like the stigma, but a very small, oval-shaped 

 head, which, when the time comes, and it is ripe, will 

 develope into a small packet of the finest possible 

 dust, which is the pollen of which you have heard 

 so much. 



This is the simplest arrangement. You will under- 

 stand it by looking at the first of the following illus- 

 trations, which is that of a cherry blossom cut in half. 

 You will see the same in rather a different form ir. 

 the apple blossom, and the same in another simple 

 form in the buttercup. 



And now, whatever the plant, or the construction 



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