LIV 
THE CORN SILK’S PURPOSE 
I SN'T IT ODD that the “ silk ” which grows out of the 
tip of a young ear of corn is a lifeline which saves 
its very existence! 
Not many people have ever thought of this silk as play¬ 
ing a role of vital usefulness. Not many people know 
that each strand of this silk is tied to the cob at the point 
where a grain of corn is destined to appear. Every grain 
must have its silk, or it cannot grow. This silk must serve 
a very peculiar purpose, or the grain will not develop. 
The tassel at the top of the cornstalk has to do with 
this purpose. The tassel contains the male flower of the 
corn, and like other flowers, it produces a fine, dust-like 
pollen. This also is vital to the development of the grain 
of corn. 
The corn tassel is likely to choose the quiet of some 
early morning to shake out its particles of pollen. They 
float down through the quiet air. Each of those silken 
threads that is tied to a grain of corn is waiting for a 
particle of this pollen. With pollen shaking down from 
all the tassels in the cornfield, it seldom fails of its pur¬ 
pose. This tiny particle of pollen fertilizes the grain and 
causes it to grow. 
No sooner has the silk served this purpose than it 
withers and dies. Those who have experimented with 
corn have played various jokes on these downy bits of 
silken thread. They have, for instance, put a paper bag 
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