i imtili.au v. 235 



an experiment upon the flower of the Crown Im- 

 perial, " to observe the effect upon the fructifica- 

 tion when deprived of the nectarcous juice. I rob- 

 bed,' 1 says this lady, u the petals of this delicate 

 fluid at about ten o'clock in the morning, and seven 

 every evening, during which period it became usu- 

 ally replaced in the degree of about one third of the 

 natural quantity when suffered to remain undis- 

 turbed. Those bells from which the honey was 

 regularly taken morning aud evening did not pro- 

 duce any seed : two bells, wherein this operation 

 was less closely attended to, formed very poor 

 seed-vessels ; while the bells on the same plant, 

 which remained in their natural state, brought their 

 seeds to perfection. The anthers and stigmas 

 seemed to wither sooner in those flowers which were 

 deprived of their nectareous juice, and the germ 

 certainly appeared to suffer essentially j but whe- 

 ther the effect produced upon the seed by the honey 

 being taken away, was in consequence of the an- 

 thers and stigmas losing their wonted nutriment, or 

 of the seed itself being deprived of its sustenance, 

 is a question of importance to be determined.''' 



Decandolle says, " the return of the sap to a 

 more oxydized condition, and the evident evacua- 

 tion of hydrogen and azote, appear to have as essen- 

 tial an influence on fructification as the deposition 



