Rushes and Sedges 191 
done in the days of old. The florets, like those 
of the cat-tail flags, have undergone a change of 
form in connection with changed circumstances. 
In those sedge-flowers which bear stamens only, 
the calyx and corolla, no longer needed for any 
purpose, have vanished utterly away. 
But the sepals and petals of the perfect floret 
borne by many sedges have had another job 
offered them by Nature, and have saved them- 
selves from extinction by acquiring usefulness in a 
new capacity. In process of time they have 
become adapted to aid in the great work of seed 
distribution. 
One of the stateliest of native sedges is the 
so-miscalled ‘‘ wool-grass,” which is a conspicuous 
object in wet fields during the latter summer. 
The large and graceful tassel of bloom is com- 
posed of innumerable soft, brown lumps, not 
much larger than grains of barley. If we pick 
one of these apart, under a lens we shall find 
that it is a compact mass of overlapping scales 
(Fig. 52). 
Under each scale is a single flower, with three 
stamens, and a long, slender pistil dividing into 
three stigmas. 
By August the stamens have withered away, 
