“Oh yes! they have opened and closed up again. The dandelion opens out to the sun so that flying insects may visit it and carry pollen from flower to flower. When it has received, in this way, enough pollen to enable its seeds to form, it closes up completely and remains closed until its seeds are ripened. During this time the short stalk between the seed-vessel and petal part grows long. If you look again at a single floret you will see that this short stout stack bears the long straight hairs I spoke of. The flower-head closes so tightly that the yellow strap-shaped petal parts of the florets are squeezed together into a bunch. They soon wither. Meantime all the hair-tipped seed-stalks are growing longer and longer. At last they push the bunch of withered petals right out of the flower and it falls off.” Uncle George then gathered a few more closed heads, and, by cutting them open, showed the boys all the stages in the growth of the seeds. “When the dandelion flower-head opens for the last time, instead of a flat golden mass of florets, this is what appears.” As he spoke, Uncle George pointed to a dandelion head which was one huge fluffy ball of stalked seeds. Frank held it up and blew his breath upon it. Immediately all the seeds went sailing through the air. “Why does the flower-head keep closed when the seeds are ripening?” asked Tom. “Because,” answered Uncle George, “not only has the seed to ripen, but a plumed stalk has to be formed by means of which the seed is carried away from the parent plant. These plumes have to be perfectly dry or they would be of no use as sails to the seed. Notice that it is only on dry days that these ‘clocks’ of the dandelion appear.” “But, Uncle George,” said Frank, “are these seeds actually fitted with feathery tops so that they may be carried far away from the parent plant?” “Certainly, my boy. You would not have them all trying to grow in the place where the parent plant grows, would you? There would be no room for three hundred seeds to grow there. Besides that, the parent plant has already exhausted the soil. It is necessary that they should seek pastures new, and therefore the seeds of most plants are furnished with some means of travelling.” “Are all seeds carried by the wind?” Tom asked. “Oh dear no,” Uncle George replied, “plants have many ways of scattering their seeds. Some plants, by suddenly bursting their seed-vessels, shoot their seeds far out; some seeds are furnished with little hooks which grip on to the fur of passing animals; some are carried by birds; but by far the greater number are scattered by the wind. “We shall learn more about these at some future time. Meantime we will grow a dandelion plant at home, and watch the opening and closing of its flowers, and the wonderful way in which its travelling seeds are produced.” Exercises on Lesson XII.