282 ESSAYS ann OBSERVATIONS 
noxious, than ufeful to the nourifhment or 
foecundity of the feed. Nor is this inconfi- 
ftent with its influence, on the production 
of the numberlefs varieties of new flowers, 
which yearly adorn the gardens of the curi- 
us: if the opinion, which has for fome time 
prevailed, be well founded ; to wit, that it is 
the beft way to obtain new varieties of fine 
flowers, to plant near together fome of the 
beft kinds of the fame fpecies, differently va- 
riegated, and fave their feeds: reckoning that 
the dufts of thefe flowers have fuch influence 
on one another, that their feed will produce 
finer varieties, than the feed of the beft of 
them would do, if it ftood alone, however o- 
therwife managed. And on the fame foun- 
dation it is, that M. Du Hamel’s {cheme, for 
producing new varieties of fruits, is built (z). 
I fay, allowing all this to be fa, which [ 
cannot confirm ; it feems rather to eftablifh, 
than to be an objection againft Mr Tourne- 
fort’?s opinion. 
59: For, fince all double flowers are mon- 
fters,'** Luxuriantes flores (fays Linnaeus) 
“¢ nulli naturales, fed omnes monftra funt ; 
« pleni ennuchi evaferunt, prolifer! monftro- 
‘¢ forum 
(v) Vid. Mem. acad. an. 1728. 
