78 BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS. [Ch. XIII. 
change. You would scarcely believe that the Pumpkin is but 
the germ of the small yellow flower of the plant. 
319. Style. This, like the filament, is sometimes wanting; 
when present, it proceeds from the germ, and bears the stigma 
on its summit. It is usually long and slender, of a cylindrical 
form, consisting of bundles of fibres, which transmit the fertil- 
izing pollen from the stigma to the germ. 
320. Stigma. This word signifies perfecting. The stigma 
is the top of the pistil, and always present; if the style be 
wanting, it is placed upon the germ, and said to be sessile, as 
in the Tulip and Poppy. The stigma is various in size and 
form; sometimes it is a round head; sometimes hollow and 
gaping, more especially when the flower is in its highest perfec- 
tion ; it is generally downy, and always more or less moist with 
a peculiar, glutinous fluid. 
Use of the Stamens and Pistils. 
321, We will now consider the use of the stamens and pis- 
tils, those organs so important, that without them no plant 
would produce fruit. 
322. The pollen of the stamens, when the flower becomes 
mature, being thrown from the anther by the opening of its lids, 
falls upon the stigma, or top of the pistil, and passes through 
the style to the germ. In the germ are little seeds beginning 
to form, but which would never come to maturity without the 
agency of the pollen. You see now the wonderful contrivance 
by which the races of plants are preserved. 
323. The real use of stamens and pistils was long a subject 
of dispute among philosophers, till Linneus explained it beyond 
a possibility of doubt. These organs have, from the most re- 
mote antiquity, been considered of great importance in perfect- 
ing the fruit. The Date Palm, which was cultivated by the : 
ancients, bears stamens and pistils on separate trees; the Greeks 
discovered that in order to have good fruit, it was necessary to 
plant the two kinds of trees near each other, and that without | 
this assistance the dates had no kernel, and were not good for 
food. 
324, Although the fertilization of plants, where the stamens 
319. Describe the style. 
320. What is the stigma 2 
321. What is said of the importance of the stamens and pistils? _ 
322. Give an account of the manner in which the seeds in the germ | 
-are fertilized. 
323. What did the Greeks discover with respect to the date-palm ? 
324, What are some of the various modes in which nature conveys | 
pollen to the pistillate plants ? 
