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romy proceed ; fo that the blood in animals being 



' the fame v/ith the fap in plants, and both being con- 

 veyed after the lame manner througlioui the leveral 

 bodies, it necefTarily follows, that the one as well as 



. the other, muft have proper veffels for fecrction of 

 the feminal matter. 



Let it then be confidcred, that the fap or nutritious 

 luice afcends in common to the pedicle of the flower, 

 as the blood flows by the aorta defcendens ; and that 

 at the calyx or bottom of the flower, fohie fhare goes 

 to one part of it, and fome to another; as the aorta 

 fends one branch to the fpcrmatic veflfels, and the re- 



" niainder of it goes to perform the other funftions , 

 and as a part of the fap is fcparated by the pedicle of 

 the flower, when the remainder is diftributed through- 

 out the remaining parts of the plant, fo the arteria 

 prreparans goes directly to the teftes in the males, and 

 ovarium in the female : and in flowers fome veffels 



"tend dire<5tly to the calyx (if it becomes the fruit^or 

 to the perianthium (if there be any,) fome to the pe- 

 tala, fome to the ftamina, fome to the pifl:illum or 

 ■uterus, as it is called by Malpighius. 

 Thefe things being ferioufly reflefted on, we'mufl: of 

 jiecefTity conclude, 



1. That the fame due care is taken to elaborate and 

 prepare the more fubtile and impenetrable particles of 

 the nutritious juice in plants, as of the blood in 



animals. 



2. This fubfl:ance fo prepared, as it muft be (iefigned 



for fome extraordinary ufe, fo this ufe can be'no other 

 than that of being the means of fecundating the fe-^ 

 male feed in plants,' as the other is of the feminine' 

 oval in animals. 



If any one fliall take a flower full blow^n, and pull 

 one of the ftamina from the pedicle, he v^'IU find a 

 rough vifcid liquor, like to the fperma, which remains 

 here till its mofl: fubtle parts have afcended the fta- 



, ^ men, or perhaps the more grofs particles might have 

 remained there, after the mofl: fubtile had afcended, 

 before the flower was blow;n ; this is as plain and de- 

 monfl:rable as can be in the Lilies, particularly in the 

 Orange Lily, and mofl: of the Martagon Lilies, there 

 is a contrivance more obvious. ■ 

 ■This vifcid liquor afcending by parallel du6ls to the 

 apex, there this fubtile matter is retained till it is 

 farther elaborated by the evaporations of the more 

 humid and aqueous particles, by the heat of the fun; 

 and then it becomes a mofl: fubtile, fine, impalpable 



^ duft/ which is then faid to be ripe, and is called the 



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Dr. Blair, after having given the fentiments of feven 

 different authors upon the fubjeft, proceeds to give 

 his own, without fubfcribing to the fentiment of either 

 the one or the other; and endeavours by a fl:ri6t ex- 

 amination of the flowers themfelves, to find out which 



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of thefe two opinions, fo diametrically oppofite to each 

 other, are mofl: agreeable to faft.' 

 . But before he begins, j|ie lays down this general 

 maxim, which he takes for granted, that nature is 

 unitorm in all her operations, and never recedes from 

 thole rules laid down by the wife Difpofer of all things 

 at the creation, 6y performing the fame thing after 

 two different and contrary methods ; and thence con- 

 V^cludes,''that if the farina be a congeries of feminal 



plants in one fpecies, it mufl:be fo in all. ''" ^: I. '"> 

 :-v4t. there be an open and direft pafl^age, or though it 

 ; > be not fo direft, yet if by any direft pafl^ge, by which 

 it can be demonft:rated, that one finale erain of the 

 lanna can 

 mufl be 



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n enter every individual feed in one plant, it 

 fo ih all; but if neither of thefe hold good, 

 and if it can be proved by ocular infpeftion, without 

 the afliflance of a microfcope, in thofc very plants 

 exemplified by Mr. Morland, Mr, Geofi^i-oy,.and Mr. 

 Bradley, that the farina in fubfl:ance cannot enter the 

 feminal vefl^el ; pr if it does, that there is no direft 

 paflagc for it to enter each particular {zo.^^ after it has 

 io got into the capfula or filiqua; then he hopes, 



both their queries, fuppofitions, and aflt;rtions, mufl: 

 fall. ■: ■ '■ - 



As for the Coroi}a Imperialis, tlie firfl: example given 



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by 



AT.- 



Morlar-J, the fiov/c^r of.whLh lianrrs do'v;^^ 



wards, though he does not deny bu: lis flv;i^> i:nv b- 

 hollow dl the way, and that it niav be \.p-n at'th: 

 extremity, >ct by its fituat'on, nnd 'icv^-J other clr- 

 cumflanccs, it does not il'^m to hitn to fjivoi,: chi.v 

 opinion. 



For firft, as there is a continual confinx of particles 

 through thefl^in in animal bodies, it i^ alio lo in ve- 

 getables: this appears by Viic immediate fading of 

 flowers, or any other part of tlic plant, aRcr it'^hizs 

 been plucked off; which proceeds from tl;c evapora- 

 tion of the particles in the little tubes, vviihout anv 

 more fucceeding in their place. . . , . 

 He thinks it as reafonable to fuppofe, that thefe par- 

 ticles fiov/ out by' the hollow ftylus, as by any other 

 part, and alfo niore fv.^nfibly there than elfevvhere, bc- 

 caufe of their being concentrated within fuch narrow 

 bounds ; and that if thefe particles defcend by the 



ilylus 1 



nv/ards, the particles, or rather 



gla 



iian^mg^ cow 

 -■^ins of the farina, can never afcend tlic fame way. 



2dly, TJiat if it iliould be granted, that thefe grains 

 did afcend by the flylus, how do they get into the fe- 



rninal vefl^el ; that being clofe)y iliut up, as will ap- 



pear to any one who fliall obferve it. 



Whereas. . __^_^ ^ , ^_ 



either waflies it, or the wind fliakes it down the tub 





till it reaches the feminal veffel; Dr. Blair obferves, 

 that the extreniity which is the upper part of the fl:ylus 

 ih an ereft flower, niufl: be the lower in a deuendent 



fo that if either the rain or v/ihd have accefs to 



one 



■ ' if, it mufl: necefllirily eithej- wafli of drive it away from 

 the feminal veflTel, which is how the ftylus. 



'■ But here the Doftor takes notice of another contri- 

 vance, for ahfwering that' purpofe,, i. e. a fort of a 

 pelvis or ciflrern, called by Linnasus neftarium, fi- 

 tuated at the origin or foot of each petaloh, filled with 

 a vifcous liquor which continues Biere, and never ex- 

 ceeds its bounds fo long as the petalon is lii health : 

 for fince the apices are here fo artfully fixed, that they 

 turn every v/ay with the leafl: wind," as Mr. Morland 

 rightly obferves, when they burfl:, and the farina is 

 driven "to and fro, though it cannot fo eaflly enter the 

 tube, yet" it may conveniently be blov/n up tovv^ards 

 the orifice of the petalafuri'ounding the fl:ylu3, whc^re 

 it is fl:opped or fiaid by this vifcoflty, till it has per- 

 formed its office. . .-^ 



1 - 



To confirm this, he infl:ances Mr- F^-h 

 fays', being .perfuaded that this vifcous jiquor did fome 

 way or other contribute towards the frCrdlifying of tins 

 plant, but not underflranding how it did To, he tried 

 the experiment, by wiping this liquor oft as foon as 

 it was depofited in. the DelvisV'ahd the* fibwer", which 



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. And the way the do£lor",accoum:s" for this is, that the 

 Kuiiiidity being remove'd, the farina is no looner blown 

 ' . iipv/arHs, than it immediately falls "down, without 

 producing any eff'ed:; and that which he takes tobe 

 a confirmation 'of this is, that both Tulips' and Fri- 

 , tillarias have this pelYis,or bafon, yet^.ij: is for the moil 

 part dry and empty; becaufe the flowers of the for^ 

 mer being eret5l, they have ho fucH'need of this liquor 

 to retain the diifl: ; for that the rain, having Imrnediate 

 accefs to them, may wafii the'duft towards the origin 

 of the petalarvv'heYe it can rennain till it has performed 

 its office'; whereas the rain having. ho .accefs to the 

 dinner furface of the flower of the Corona Imperialis, 

 it is 'naturally endowed with this humidity, depofited 

 thereby feyeral excretory dufts, in order to render 

 it fi^t for the purpofe : and Malpighius himfelf takes 

 . notice of this Angularity in thPs 'flower, tliouMf he af- 

 • cnbes no uTe to it,- -. ^ -. ' .-.- - 



The next example 'propofed by Mr. Morland, Is the 

 -Yellow Lily, which, according to his figure, is repre- 

 fented as having t!ie apices equally high with the top 

 of the fl:ylus, and tlie petala over-topping each other ; 

 whereas he fays, that by the narrowefl: infpe\5tion he 

 ever could make, the top of the apices (they being 

 then perpendicularly fituated) reaches no higher than 

 the neck of the button upon the top of the fl:ylus, 

 and that this is before the apices begin to burfl: and 



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