162 FLORA HISTORICA. 



form they should be cut off, which will cause the 

 plant to throw out a fresh supply of blossom ; 

 but these plants should never be suffered to per^ 

 feet their seed, as it would greatly weaken them, 

 and generally cause their entire decay, for the 

 Sweet Reseda is an annual in its proper climate, 

 and therefore naturally decays when it has ripened 

 its seed. We have made the same experiment 

 on other annual plants which have survived 

 through the winter, and produced blossom on 

 the following year, when their flower-stalks have 

 been cut off before the formation of seed has 

 taken place. By this means, also. Stocks and 

 Wall-flowers which blossom in the spring, will be 

 found to flower a second time in the summer if 

 their branches are cut off. We have frequently 

 made the experiment on early-flowering Honey- 

 suckles, and obtained a fine display of corollas 

 in the autumn ; for it appears almost like instinct 

 in plants to endeavour to perform their office to 

 nature in rendering up their various seeds. The 

 philosophical reason of this apparent phenomenon 

 is, that the roots have drawn up and furnished 

 the trunk with the due proportion of nourishment 

 required to perfect the seed vessels and the seeds, 

 and the vital principle of the germ also rests in 

 the trunk and branches until it is drawn forth by 



