234 FLORA HISTORICA. 



its petals, like the Tulip and most other flowers, to 

 secure the parts of fructification from the wet and 

 inclement season in which it flowers ; but, to 

 counteract this apparent inconvenience, a pendulous 

 position is given to the corolla, which effectually 

 protects the important parts of the flower, like a 

 bell-glass, until impregnation has taken place, when 

 the peduncles change to an upright position, in 

 order to facilitate the ripening of the seed. The 

 singularity of the nectary of this flower is too 

 peculiarly conspicuous to have been overlooked by 

 the curious : it is a white glandular cavity, at the 

 base of each petal ; and as long as the flower re- 

 mains in vigour, a large drop of limpid nectareous 

 juice is hung to each nectary ; and thus we are struck 

 with other important uses of the petals, in addition 

 to that of a covering to the stigma and anthers', 

 for they appear to be organs by which the polarised 

 primitive matters are directed to their evolution, 

 and to their different attractions. We have con- 

 sulted with some of the first botanists of the age 

 on the use of the nectareous juice in nourishing the 

 parts of fructification, and assisting the impregna- 

 tion of the seed, and we have met with that diver- 

 sity of opinion which we could hardly have ex- 

 pected on a subject that seems so clearly developed. 

 The ingenious authoress of u Sketches of the Phy- 

 siology of Vegetable Life 1 ' tells us, that she made 



