258 Vegetable Reproduction, etc. [June, 



hopes of pre-eminence are at once laid low ; our distinguished leader, 

 whose best energies have for many years been employed in the promotion 

 of horticulture among us, is brought down to the position of a mere 

 copyist; and the *• blushing honors" of that renowned German female 

 gardener are all blighted in their bloom ! After much deliberation in 

 the " strawberry council," it is at last unanimously resolved that such 

 insults are not to be borne ; the heaviest horticultural committee-gun is 

 charged, aimed, and with thundering ' report' sweeps the usurper's pre- 

 tensions into ruins. Mr. Prince has conseciuently experienced the fulfill- 

 ment of Scriptural denunciation — he has sowed to the wind and reaped 

 the ' Storms ! ' But as the warfare from without has now nearly ceased, 

 som.e among us are prepared to find that the artillery of Longworth and 

 Warder have at least stunned if not killed our unfortunate brother in 

 the East ; we hope, however, for our own conviction's sake, as well as 

 for the sake of horticulture in general, that Mr. Prince is yet alive, and 

 that his new varieties of strawberries so extensively catalogued, may put 

 the productions of Longworth, McAvoy, Schnike & Co. to the blush ! 



But the great question still remains unsettled, which is — Is the 

 * strawberry question' now settled among ourselves ? Do our horticul- 

 turists agree on the most important topics of culture and kinds ? We 

 are compelled to reply that they do 7iot. 



On this question, we must admit that father is against son, and 

 mother-in law against daughter-in-law ; and it seems the matter will 

 never be put to rest, unless a change of fashion directs our controversies 

 to some other plant, and our present strawberry furor is in some measure 

 moderated. Nor should we wonder to see some intrepid genius harness 

 this hobby to the chariot of some other patrician fruit ; or, some red- 

 republican in horticulture essay to attach it to the common 'go-cart' of 

 the plebian pea-nut ! Meanwhile, it will be quite appropriate and per- 

 haps profitable for nursery-men and gardeners to boast and contend 

 about such varieties as they may desire to sell. It is not my purpose, 

 however, to meddle with this part of the great question, inasmuch as 

 enough is being done in this direction from other quarters. 



The sexual functions (so-called) of the plant being an important item 

 in the economy of vegetable life, and a main starting point in Botany, 

 it may be well to view this characteristic in the light which the science 

 of various epochs has thrown upon it. 



Death and corruption is the common fate awaiting all parts of ani- 

 mate nature ; ample provision has therefore been made by the Creator 

 for continuing reproduction. To the animal kingdom only is this repro- 

 duction ordained by a process of fecundation ; and to the continuance 



