26 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 
All is ready for its reception. The part of the 
pistil which it must penetrate is never filled with 
anything more substantial than a loose mass of 
large cells, called ‘‘ conducting tissue,’’ and, in some 
Fic. 34.—Pollen-grains of the European hazel or filbert (Corylus 
Avellana) putting forth their pollen-tubes. 
few species of blossom, it is empty. So in due time 
the end of the pollen-tube reaches one of the baby 
seeds in the pistil’s base, and enters it by a minute 
orifice in the seed-coat. 
