206 Blossom and Seed 



smaller than the rest, which never open. These pro- 

 duce but a few grains of pollen, as there is no waste 

 to be allowed for, and they send out long tubes without 

 leaving the anthers. 



The dog-violet, on the other hand, as it does not 

 resort to this device, is quite seedless, unless pollen be 

 brought to it ; and other plants are much worse off, 

 and can never set seed at all in this country, being 

 unable to make use of their own pollen, and not find- 

 ing here the messengers which, in their native land, 

 bring them pollen from other plants. The Greater 

 Periwinkle is one of these, and never has seed. 



As has been mentioned, some blossoms have pistils 

 so much longer than the stamens that it seems impos- 

 sible for the pollen of the one to reach the tip of the 

 former. This is the case with the colchicum, whose 

 mauve-coloured blossoms are much like those of 

 the crocus. But when the pollen is ripe and the 

 anthers have burst, some of the dust is rubbed off 

 upon the inside of the petals when the flower closes, 

 as it does every night several times in succession. 

 Meanwhile the petals lengthen so much that, when the 

 blossom closes for the last time, the first spots of 

 pollen are brought up to a level with the tip of the 

 pistil and are pressed against it, with the result that 

 some of the grains adhere to the sticky surface and 

 soon begin to grow, at the rate of something more 

 than an inch in an hour. 



In the case of the colchicum, the ovules are a very 

 long way from the pistil-tip — as much as thirteen 

 inches — but they are reached in about twelve hours. 

 This takes place at latest at the beginning of 

 November ; but, for some reason, perhaps because it 



