The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-04-14

N order to continue to raise crops
from year to year we must propa-
gate the plants in some way.
There are two principal ways Of
doing this-by seeds and by divisions
Of the plant itself. The most impor-
tant Of these is by seeds, as it is in
this way that most of the ordinary
farm crops are multiplied.
In order to understand this process
we must first learn how the seeds are
formed. The tassel Of the corn is the
male flower and the silk the female.
Some plants, such as certain varieties
Of Strawberries, have only female
flowers and must be planted in alter
nate rows with varieties which have
both kinds Of blossoms. In other
plants the male and female flowers
are combined in one This is the case
with the apple and many other fruits.
In the apple the stamens, or male
parts, grow in a ring around the pistil,
or female part, which is in the center
Of the flower. The top Of a stamen,
which is expanded, is called the an
ther. This contains a yellow dust,
the pollen.
The upper portion of the pistil is
called the stigma. From it a tube
called the style leads downward to
the ovary. This ovary contains one
or more egg shaped cells called ovules.
Each Of these ovules Is capable of de-
veloping into a seed if fertilized with
a pollen grain. When a grain of pol
len alights on a ripe stigma it is held
by a sticky substance secreted there.
It soon terminates and sends a long.
threadlike projection down through
the style to the ovary. This slender
projection enters the ovary, and the
resultant union of the male and female
elements causes a seed to develop.
One pollen grain is required for each
ovule, and each Ovule develops into a
separate seed. There are many thou
sand pollen grains produced by each
stamen. and as there are several sta
mems for each pistil you will see that
a great excess of pollen is produced.
This is n of natures methods of
making reproduction more certain.
In flowers like the apple the pollen
may sometimes fall directly on the
stigma in the same flower. More often,
however, the stamen and pistils ripen
at different times. The object Of this
Is to prevent self fertilization, which, If
long continued, will weaken the vitali-
ty Of the coming generations. Cross
pollination-that is, the fertilization of
the ovule of one flower by the pollen
from another plant-unites the strength
Of both parents and produces larger.
harder seed.
This has been proved by many exper-
iments. If the tassels are pulled from
a row of corn before they have time to
shed their pollen. the silks must neces-
sarily be fortified by pollen from 9th
er stalks. The cross %pollination will
cause the detasseled rows to produce
heavier and larger ears. If this proc
ess Is continued from year to year the
yielding power Of that particular strain
will be considerably increased.
In such plants as corn the wind car
ries the pollen for rods in every direc-
ton. The air in the cornfleld is so
filled with the yellow dust that there is
seldom any danger that the silks will
fail to catch more than plenty to fer
tilize each of the many ovules that are
to form the future kernels.
Some plants, however, are not so for
tunate in this respect. The pollen of
fruit trees is carried to some extent by
the wind, but not nearly so much 50
as that of corn. In such plants as