JOURNAL OF THE LONDON HORT. SOCIETY. 



89 



Very conclusively that Hovey's Seedling will 

 not bear any fruit unless impregnated by 

 some staminate variety. And the same 

 may be said of other varieties in which the 

 stamens are obsolete. I have had some 

 plants of the Hudson Bay for three years, in 

 a position where they cannot very easily be 

 impregnated by other kinds, during which 

 time they have not borne one berry, while 

 other plants of the same variety, exposed, 

 have been productive. A difference in the 

 formation of the flowers on different plants, 

 is not confined to cultivated kinds, but may 

 be seen in those growing wild in the fields, 

 the pistillate plants of which I have often 

 examined with a magnifying glass, to see 

 if I could discover any pollen, but have ne- 

 ver been able to find it ; I am forced, there- 

 fore, to believe that pistillate plants, both 

 wild and cultivated, are absolutely devoid 

 of pollen, and cannot, therefore, produce 

 any fruit except when impregnated by 

 others. 



I am also convinced from observation and 

 theory, that one kind will never change to 

 the other by off-sets. The runner bearing 

 the same relation to the plant producing it 

 as a tree grown from a bud does to the tree 

 from which it was taken. It maj', then, be 

 asked, how does it happen that there are 

 'pistillate and staminate plants of the same 



variety ? Ians2oer,it is ivot the fact ^ unless 

 they have sprung from seed, or the plants 

 have been taken from the fields in a wild 

 state. 



That pistillate plants are surer and better 

 bearers than staminate plants, is, I think, 

 generally true, (provided, of course, that 

 they are impregnated.) And it would seem 

 reasonable to infer that when but one of the 

 sexual organs is complete, the other Avill 

 have more strength. Plants, therefore, that 

 are perfect in both organs, require a higher 

 state of cultivation. There is, however, a 

 wide differenee in the productiveness of 

 different kinds, that are perfect in both or- 

 gans, some being much more liable to blast 

 than others. G. W. Huntsman. 



Flushing, L. I-, July 14, 184G. 



Remarks. — These experiments are inte- 

 resting and to the point. The plants of 

 Hovey's Seedling, made the subject of trial 

 in this case, were evidently distinctly pistil- 

 late plants. Our correspondents should bear 

 in mind to state this point distinctly in their 

 details of experiments on this subject. Our 

 correspondent is, no doubt, correct in his 

 opinion, that a truly pistillate or staminate 

 never changes. But he does not touch upon 

 the query, does a normal or perfect blossom 

 change ? This is the point. — Ed.] 



REVIEWS. 



The Journal of the Horticultural Society 

 OF LoN DON, Vol. 1, Parts I and II, Svo. Lon- 

 don : Published for the Society, by Longman ^ Co. 

 1846. 



The Horticultural Society of London holds 

 the undisputed first place among all bodies 

 of its class in the world. With the Duke 

 of Devonshire, whose jardino?)ianie, outstrips 

 that of any amateur of the age, for its Presi- 



dent, — Dr.Lindley,the leading botanical and 

 horticultural writer of the day, for its Rec. 

 Secretary, — Robert Thompson for its porno, 

 logist, and equally able assistants in all 

 other departments, — with its large garden 

 at Chiswick, where most of the various 

 fruits and vegetables of the world are test- 

 ed, — with its shows patronized by Royalty, 

 so attractive and fashionable that at the last 



