244 ESSAYS AND OBSERVATIONS 



together ; others ripened a few feeds ; as 

 did alfo the mercurialis plants : Both 

 which fcemed to be foecund. " Perhaps, 

 " fays he, the dufl of the apices, brought 

 ' from fome other place by the wind, fer- 

 " tilized thefe few feeds ; That this is not 

 ** impofTible, we have a fine inftance ia 

 " Jovianus Pontanus, preceptor to Alphon- 

 ** fus King of Naples, who, in a poem, 

 ** tells us, that, in his time, there were two 

 " palm trees, a male cultivated at Brin- 

 *' des and a female in the woods of Otran- 

 " to, which carried no fruit for many 

 '• years. But at length, being elevated a- 

 *' bove the other trees of the forcft, fo 

 *' that it could fee the male palm-tree of 

 *• I'rundufium, it then began to bear good 

 " fiui:: in abundance. No doubt, becaufe 

 *' then it began to receive the dufl of the 

 *' (lamina carried by the wind from the 

 " m 'lepalm tree,over the other trees of the 

 " wood •^." A very fine ftory indeed ! 



1 fhall only further obferve, concerning 

 this learned author, that though he has 



added 



* Vid. MciH. /icud. 1711. 



