198 Blossom and Seed 



develop, and if it be kept from them they will simply 

 shrivel and die, for nothing else will do instead. 



This dust, or pollen, is contained in the anther, 

 which is usually seated, or more often perched, and 

 apparently very loosely perched, too, on the end of a 

 stalk. 



When the pollen is ripe, that is, ready for the use of 

 the grains contained in the pistil, the chambers open 

 and it is discharged. The pollen consists of hollow 

 grains, varying very much in size and shape in different 

 plants, though always alike in the same plant. 



Pollen-grains are very beautiful objects when seen 

 through the microscope, though they look like nothing 

 but powdery dust to the naked eye. Their colour is 

 usually yellow or brown, but they are also red, green, 

 blue, whitish, and even black ; and though their 

 general shape is round, or egg-shaped, they are of many 

 other forms, wonderful in their great beauty and 

 variety, and reminding one of microscopic shells. 



Some pollen-grains, for instance, are covered with 

 ridges or grooves ; others, such as those of the holly- 

 hock and aster, with spines ; others again with hairs 

 or thorns ; those of the thistle are many-sided ; of 

 the fuchsia and evening primrose, triangular ; of the 

 chicory, six-sided; and, if we could see, we should no 

 doubt find a reason for every change of form and 

 colour, and discover that each was exactly adapted 

 for its own special purpose. 



Every pollen-grain is delicately coated with oil, pro- 

 bably as a protection against damp and wet, and all 

 have upon them markings, like pores or slits, to some 

 of which there are lid-like covers. Usually each grain 

 consists of a single cell, though sometimes there are 



