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their petals and placed in the moist chamber together with loose 

 anthers. The loose anthers remained closed, but the others burst open. 



In the same way as the flowers of Stellaria media and the men- 

 tioned PapiUonaceae, behave with respect to the opening of the 

 anthers in a space, saturated with water-vapour : 



Stellaria Holostea L., St. graminea L., Cerastium Biehersteinii C. 

 arvense L., Cochlearia danica L., Sisymbrium Alliaria Scop., Crambe 

 hió'panica L., Bunias orientalis L., Capsella Bursa pastoris Much., 

 Hesperis violacea L., H. matronalis L., Thlaspi arvense L., Alyssum 

 maritimum Lam., and further Lychnis diurna Sibth., Silene injlata 

 Sm. Galium MoUugo L., Asperula ciliata Rochl., Campanula media 

 L., C. lat if alia L. 



With all these plants the bursting of the anthers must, in my 

 opinion, be ascribed to the influence of the nectaries. 



With Hesperis two large nectaries are found at the inner side of 

 the base of the two short stamens and between these and the four 

 long stamens. If a flower of Hesperis violacea or H. matronalis L., 

 after being deprived of its petals and sepals, is placed in the moist 

 chamber, nearly always the four long stamens only burst ; the other 

 two remain closed. 



It has been repeatedly observed that the secretion of nectar begins 

 as soon as the stamens open. 



In connection with what was stated above, one would be inclined 

 to infer from this that flow of water from the anther causes the 

 secretion of nectar. If, however, ^vith Stellaria media, the anthers 

 are removed before they have discharged water to the nectaries, one 

 finds all the same the nectaries amply pro\ided with honey, when 

 the flower opens. The same may be observed in the male flowers 

 of Aesculus Hippocastanum . In the still nearly closed flowerbud 

 the nectary is dry yet. When the flower continues to open small 

 drops of liquid are seen to appear on the surface of the nectary, 

 still before the anthers extend halfway from the bud. These droplets 

 increase in size as the anthers approach the moment in which they 

 open. By weighing it may be proved that the anthers have already 

 lost part of their original weight when the first droplets of nectar 

 appear on the surface of the nectary. From this circumstance also 

 one would be inclined to infer that the water of the anthers comes 

 out again as nectar. When, however, from very young buds, whose 

 nectary is not moist yet, the anthers are removed, yet at a later stage 

 of development of the bud, secretion of nectar is found in them as 

 in buds that have kept their anthers. 



