52 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 
half an inch long, composed of many hairy, green 
pistils, each partially covered with a scale. 
These scales, like those on the far prettier 
staminate catkin, are fringed with silky hairs, and 
have been making themselves very useful earlier 
in the season. 
Now they are separated by the lengthening of 
the catkin, but in the bud they lay so close 
together as to overlap, and their fringes made a 
soft, warm fur, which protected the young stamens 
or pistils from the frost. 
The pistillate tassels of the poplar grow in 
clusters, usually on the tips of the branches and 
twigs. In this position of vantage each green pistil 
waits for the breeze to bring it pollen from the 
catkins of the stamen-bearing trees. As soon as 
the vitalizing dust is received the pistils begin to 
grow. In a few days, if the weather is bright 
and breezy, the insignificance of their earliest 
youth is a thing of the past. 
The tassels lengthen, and become so _ vividly 
green that they are noticeable not only on the 
branches, but in the landscape. In the yet color- 
less world the trees stand forth clothed all in liv- 
ing green, as if they had burst into luxuriant leaf. 
But the leaves are still fast asleep, and tucked 
