252 ESSAYS awn OBSERVATIONS 
“na palmarum vegetat.—Meminique fic o- 
“nuftum fuiffe dactylis fuis unicum race- 
“mum, ut eum attollere a terra prae pondere 
“‘ vix fuftinerem (d).” And Alpinus himfelf 
is obliged to own, that the fruitfulnefs of the 
palm-trees in the deferts of Arabia, is not ow- 
ing to any artificial culture, but to the winds 
carrying the duft and flowers of the male to 
the female (e). Is it probable, that nature 
has left the fertilifing of fo ufeful a tree, to 
the uncertain motions of the air? 
Bestpes, that great and curious botanift 
Tournefort, after mentioning the opinion of 
Theopbraflus Alpinus, and others, concerning 
the male pa/m-trees, adds, “* Cum in Hifpania 
« Baetica, palmarum feraci, a prudentioribus 
«© yiris de hac re f{cifcitarer, certum nihil ac- 
«« cipere potul. De /upulo certius loquor. In 
«¢ Horto Regio Parifienfi, luxuriat fructibus 
“* guotannis onuftus. Qui vero floribus gau- 
«‘ det, non occurrit nifi in infulis Sequanae et 
‘«« Matronae, longe diftantibus: in Horto Re- 
‘© gio tamen femina profert” (/). 
THis 
(d)-Velling in Alpin. c. 7. p. 11. 
(¢) V. Alpin. de plant Ag. p. 25. 
( f) Inf. p. 69. 
