236 FLORA HISTORICA. 



in the honey juice of flowers of oxydized mucilage 

 during the evolution of hydrogen." 



The situation of the nectaries, at the basis of the 

 sexual organs, shews us, that the oxydized sap must 

 be deposited in these organs before the more vola- 

 tile matter can ascend into the parts of fructifi- 

 cation. 



It is hence that the nectaries have commonly such 

 a position, that the evacuation of the pollen from 

 the antherae is directed towards them. This is so 

 evident in the Iridece, that it is impossible to deny 

 the connexion between the nectaries and the organs 

 of fructification. This relation is still more striking, 

 when we observe an inclination of the pistilla, with 

 their stigmata, towards the nectaries, at the period 

 when the former have attained their perfect ease. 

 Finally, the evolution of the sexual organs at dif- 

 ferent times, or what is called the dichogamy, is a 

 very obvious proof that in many cases fructification 

 is accomplished by the nectaries. When we thus 

 observe, that, in the same flower, the antherae are 

 much sooner ripe than the stigmata, or the reverse, 

 it is evident that these latter organs cannot be im- 

 pregnated by the former, in so far as they belong 

 to the same plant. Hence it happens that the first 

 blossoms always fall off, and the fruit fails, when 

 the dichogamy is gynandrous, because the early 



