286 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 
Darwin has pointed out that in parts of the 
world where the summers are short and chill the 
land belongs to wind-fertilized plants, rushes, grasses, 
sedges, and cone-bearers. 
And so the plants which entrust their future to 
the wind have, on the whole, a wider geographical 
range. But in pollen-sending, as in some other 
undertakings, newer methods make for economy, 
and the old way of doing things is wasteful. The 
Conifere have to produce so much pollen that 
there shall still be enough for all needs after a 
great quantity of the precious dust has been car- 
ried wide of its destination by vagrant winds. 
So when the cone-bearing trees blossom, in May 
or June, their blown pollen is everywhere. It 
covers the surfaces of still waters, in the neighbor- 
hood of evergreen woods. Whole bucketfuls of 
it have been swept off the decks of vessels sailing 
close to the coast of North America. One observer 
has seen the ground near St. Louis covered with 
pollen, as if sprinkled with sulphur, and there was 
good reason to believe that it had been transported 
from pine forests, 400 miles to the south. ‘‘ Kerner 
has seen the snow-fields of the higher Alps sim- 
ilarly dusted,’’ says Darwin, ‘‘ and another nat- 
uralist found numerous pollen-grains of Coniferz 
