Wild Flowers as They Grow 



the message of her absent husband." Less fanci- 

 fully put, it all comes to this, that the White Campion, 

 in order positively to ensure cross-fertiUsation, has 

 taken the drastic measure of separating the 

 sexes as widely as possible on different plants. 

 Just now and then, however, it appears to forget 

 its stringency, and we get flowers which contain 

 both stamens and ovary. 



In the male flowers the stamens stand in two 

 rings, but they are not matiure all at once. First 

 the outer ring is ready and discharges its pollen, 

 while those of the inner ring are shorter, and wait. 

 Next night they, too, grow to full strength, and as 

 their brethren fade they take their place in dispatch- 

 ing loads of pollen upon the messenger moths. As for 

 the female flower to which the loads are sent, it is 

 worth a moment's pause to look at the ovary and 

 its five columns. Not often do we see five such 

 fine ones. In the young flower they aU stand within 

 the petal tube side by side close together, but as the 



flower matures they grow well above the tube and 



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