CHAPTER XII 

 THE WORK OF FLOWERS 



83. The Work in which All Parts join. — All parts of 

 the plant work together to do these two things : 



First : to provide for the needs of the growing plant. 

 Second : to provide some way by which another genera- 

 tion of the same kind of plants may be produced. 



84. What the Flower does. — Nearly all plants are 

 propagated, or continued from generation to generation, 

 by seed. It is the business of flowers to produce this seed. 



Each part of the flower plays some part, directly or in- 

 directly, in the production of seed. We shall soon see 

 why some are attractively colored ; why some are green 

 and unattractive ; why some are fragrant and some odor- 

 less; why it is necessary for bees or other insects to go 

 from clover blossom to clover blossom or from strawberry 

 blossom to strawberry blossom ; why, if they fail to do so, 

 the clover plants produce no seed and the strawberry 

 plants no fruit; why the corn Ufts its tassel high in the 

 air and why the cane produces its seed on the top of the 

 stalk. 



Let us proceed step by step to find out some of these 

 interesting and important facts and to get a glimpse also 

 of hidden changes, which take place within the flower 

 before the seed begins to form. 



The first step will be to learn the parts of the flower. 



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