HOW SOME FAMILIAR THINGS LOOK 107 
and a great deal of oil and starch. They also 
contain a nucleus. The pollen grain contains 
the most concentrated form of plant substance, 
for in it many of the qualities of the future plant 
lie dormant. The addition of the material in 
the pollen to the immature seed makes a seed 
which can grow and produce a new plant. 
The pollen grains are carried to the imma¬ 
ture seed by insects as well as by the wind. 
When a butterfly flits from flower to flower, it 
carries pollen dust on its feet and wings, and 
so does the bee. The bee also uses the pollen it 
gathers from the flowers to build its hive. It 
mixes the oily contents of the grain and its thick 
skin into a paste or wax, much as the modern 
building contractor mixes concrete. But that 
is diverting the pollen grain from its real use, 
which is to fertilize young seeds and make 
it possible for them to grow into new plants. 
When we pull a single hair from our heads, 
we find there is a little oily bulb on the end. 
Under the microscope this bulb looks rather like 
an onion, for it is made up of many thin layers. 
Pollen as seen through 
the microscope 
Pollen 
escaping 
How is it 
carried about? 
Pollen 
grain 
