342 Sexuality of Plants — Fecundation, ITi/hridizatwn. [August, 



back into tlie water to ripen and sow its seeds. Others are always 

 submerged, on which it is evident that the grains of pollen do not 

 attach themselves to the stigma, as before described ; yet fecunda- 

 tion takes place, as in other plants, by a process peculiar : sometimes 

 the pollen is carried by the winds ; sometimes by insects* Nature 

 here, as elsewhere, is never at a loss for agents to perform her work. 

 There is a curious circumstance connected with insect impregna- 

 tion showing great wisdom and design. When insects are employed 

 or attracted by the honey or the pollen, which latter constitues the 

 food of their young, as in the case of the honey bee, you never 

 see them passing promiscuously from one flower of one species to 

 another. If they commence on the white clover, they continue on 

 it during the time they gather their load. This is undoubtedly to 

 prevent improper hybridization and consequent sterility. 



TRACTICAL REMARKS — HYBRIDIZATION, ETC. 



We have seen that in the blossoms of fruit trees, and of most 

 other plants, the seed is the offspring of the Stamens and Pistil, 

 whatever be the theory or the mode of impregnation. It can 

 not have escaped the attention of the most superficial observer, that 

 the seed when ripe, will not renew precisely the species of the in- 

 dividual from which it was taken. We have often heard the silly 

 remark, that there was one seed in every apple, or certain seed on 

 every tree, that would be synonymous with that of the tree. But 

 we would as soon believe the silly story of the man who declared to 

 us he had a cherry without pit or stone, and when a large number 

 of persons applied for buds and grafts, Lo ! it was dead ! Five 

 thousand seed, and these augmented a hundred fold, might be planted 

 from a single tree, and not one would prove a type of the original. 

 What is to be done to secure a sure or better result ? Crossing or 

 Iljjhridizing. 



This can be effected, and is now successfully effected as follows : 

 Remove, for instance, out of the blossom of a fruit tree the stamens, 

 or male parents, and bring those of another and different variety of 

 fruit, and dust the pistil or female parent with them— a process 

 sufficiently simple but one having the most marked effect on the 

 seeds produced. If we thus fertilize the pistil of one variety 



*But three or four years since (if I rightly remember), tlie poob of water at Cincin- 

 nati and vicinity, wore covoreil witli a yellow dnst, wliiclx on examination with the mi- 

 croscope, was found to be the pollen of' the pine. A south wind blowing for sometime, 

 brought this pollen all the way from the pine region of the AUeganies. 



