io6 MINUTE MARVELS OF NATURE 



developed in the spring before the leaves, so that 

 the latter are no obstacle to the pollen, which is 

 blown in showers from tree to tree, and showers 

 of pine-pollen are frequently recorded at con- 



V'ig. 69. A magnified view of the familiar dust or 

 pollen of the pine-tree flower 



siderable distances from the source of their origin. 

 Sometimes the pollen from remote woods has fallen 

 in the streets of towns, giving the surface of the 

 puddles a sulphur hue, and so has caused alarm to the 

 inhabitants, who imagined a fall of sulphur had 

 really taken place, and conceived fears of worse 

 things to follow, until the microscope plainly 

 revealed the true nature of the supposed portent- 



