THE PURPOSE OF A PLANT 



the pollen and the ovary, with the parts that hold them, and 

 some other parts as well. 



For simple study, in plants easily procured in the fall of 

 the year, the following are best: among flowers, poppies, 

 nasturtiums, pansies, petunias, snapdragons, sweet peas; 

 among vegetables, squash and tomatoes. 



The work of the flower is as follows: The pollen must 

 first be carried to the stigma, or sticky part of the pistil. 

 This is done by means of the wind, by simply falling down- 

 ward, or by the help of bees, who carry the floury pollen 

 upon their fuzzy legs. Once a pollen 

 grain has reached the stigma, the grain 

 opens and its contents work into the 

 pistil until they reach the ovary. Here 

 they find an ovule, or the beginning 

 of an egg or seed, which cannot be 

 complete until the pollen reaches it. 

 The two unite, and at once the seed be- 

 gins to form. When complete and ripe, 

 the seed is ready to make a new plant. 



Seeds take hundreds of different 

 forms. If we look at an apple, an 

 orange, a bean, and a peanut, we 

 shall begin to see how widely seeds 

 differ. The apple and orange are not 

 seeds alone ; they are fruit as well, for 



fruit is the seed and its envelope, or covering. Here are 

 some common examples of the different kinds of fruit. 



The apple and pear - contain seeds, but their chief part 

 is the calyx, which during the summer becomes fleshy. 



The strawberry's pulpy part is the end of the flower- 

 stalk, which is thickened like the calyx of the apple. The 

 seeds are carried on the surface. 



Fig. 4. — The seeds 

 and thickened calyx of 

 the pear. 



