THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



219 



earliest stages compressed into a fine 

 pencil point, but when the fruit is 

 mature its admirable qualities for 

 disseminating the seed are brought 

 into play. It then expands like an 

 umbrella, the secondary hairs with 

 which every primary hair is barbed, 

 spread out and interlace, the whole 

 forming a balloon of marvellous 

 strength, elasticity and lightness. 

 These hairs are united at the base into 

 a ring, from which the seed is suspend- 

 ed as it soars away in the autumn 

 breeze to literally find "fresh fields 

 and pastures new," where it may drop 

 in congenial soil and germinate and 

 grow. Returning to our floret we 

 observe within the encircling hairs of 

 the calyx the long slender purple tube 

 of the corolla, this is about an inch in 

 length, having the upper third cleft 

 into five divisions, indicating the five 

 original petals of which it is composed. 

 If it is neatly laid open with a pair of 

 needles, about half way down where it 

 abruptly contracts, the filaments of the 

 five stamens will be seen springing 

 from its sides. In their lower portion 

 these are separate and free from each 

 other, yet barbed with hairs ; in the 

 upper part they cohere into a tube, 

 formed by the united anthers, these 

 project beyond the tube of the corolla, 

 they are usually a rather bluer shade of 

 purple than the corolla, and the pollen 

 itself is of a still brighter blue. The 

 anthers open inwards and discharge 



their pollen into the hollow cylinder, 

 through which the long slender style 

 is protruded. It is furnished with a 

 circular fringe of hairs a little below 

 the stigma, which acts as a brush to 

 sweep out the pollen, as it pushes its 

 way up through the anther tube. If 

 a flower head has been undisturbed 

 for a short time a little hillock of 

 pollen may be noticed blocking the 

 aperture of each expanding floret. It 

 will be inferred from this that the 

 pollen is extruded before the stigma, 

 which pushes it out, is ready to be 

 benefitted by it, and this is so. But 

 as all the florets in a head do not mature 

 simultaneously, but those of the cir- 

 cumference ripen first, and those 

 towards the centre at successively later 

 periods, there is ample opportunity of 

 utilizing the stores of pollen, and of 

 ensuring the cross fertilization of 

 individual florets. To this contrivance 

 is doubtless attributable the vigorous 

 robustness of the thistle and compositse 

 family generally, and conjoined with 

 their admirable dispersive powers ac- 

 counts for their universal distribution 

 over the earth. The purple blossoms of 

 the thistle are very attractive to humble 

 bees, who alone have a proboscis long 

 enough to reach the nectar at the 

 bottom of the corolla tube. And the 

 firm prickly involucre effectually pre- 

 vents other winged marauders from 

 surreptitiously obtaining access to its 

 stores of nectar by biting a hole at the 



