MELONS, &C. 197 



accidents, and the perfecting of a few seeds, at any 

 rate secured. 



In general, germens whose stigmas have not received 

 the pollen wither away without swelling at all, but 

 some grow to a considerable size, and in such the sub- 

 stance of the seed, its skin, and even its cotyledons, 

 are often to be found, the embryo only being wanting. 

 In a Melon or Cucumber it is common to find, among 

 numerous p rfect seeds, many mere unimpregnated 

 husks. Gardeners formerly attempted to assist Nature 

 by stripping off the barren flowers of Melons and Cu- 

 cumbers, which, having no germen, they found could 

 not come to fruit, and were, therefore, as they suppos- 

 ed, an unnecessary encumbrance to the constitution of 

 the parent plant. But finding they thus obtained no 

 fruit at all, they soon learned the wiser practice of ad- 

 mitting air as often as possible to the flowering plants, 

 for the purpcse of blowing the pollen from one blossom 

 to the other, and even to gather the barren kind and 

 place it over that destined to bear fruit. 



The ceconomy of various aquatic plants throws great 

 light upon the subject before us. Different species 

 of Potamogeton Pond'veed, float entirely under water, 

 often at some considerable depth, till the flowering 

 season arrives, when they rise near the surface, and 

 throw up their flowering spikes above it, sinking after- 

 wards to ripen and sow their seeds at the bottom. 

 The White Water Lily Nymphwa alba, is very truly 

 described by Linnaeus as closing its flowers in the af- 

 ternoon and laying them down upon the surface of the 

 water till morning, when it r uses and expands them, 

 often, in a bright day, to several inches above the wa- 

 ter. Aud to use the language of Alpinus the celebra- 

 ted stories of the Lotus turning to the sun, closing its 



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