REPORT OF THE BOTANIST. a2 1 
In not a few fruits, so-called, the action of the pollen goes, seem- 
ingly, farther still. In the Strawberry 1s involved the receptacle, 
and the same is true toa less degree of the Blackberry and the Rasp- 
berry. The calyx grows with the growth of the seed in the Hazel- 
nut, the Chestnut, the Hickories, and the Walnuts ; also, in the lit- 
tle Partridge-berry, the Blue-berry, and the Huckleberry. The head 
of the flowering stem swells and sweetens and becomes the chief part 
of the Fig,and the bracts that inclose the flower and seeds com- 
pose the so-called fruit of the Pine-apple. 
Where, then, shall we limit the action of the fertilizing element of 
the pollen? Iam inclined to believe that it really has no limit, but 
that it is capable of extending through the whole plant. 
Two facts in support of this opinion must here suffice. Most gar- 
deners know that Pansies can not be well kept true to color when 
grown together in a bed for years in succession. Not only the seed- 
lings, as might be expected, but the parent roots are apparently 
influenced by receiving each other’s pollen and their colors thereby 
changed. The same is true of some other garden flowers. A friend 
of mine, who is largely engaged in growing the Gladiolus, has told 
me that for years he grew the ‘“‘Shakespeare,” a white variety, by 
itself, and year after year it remained true to color. But when for 
some reason he planted it one year near red varieties, the next year 
the same bulbs threw up stems that produced flowers that were 
partially red. Nor while they grew together could he again obtain 
perfectly white flowers. 
These and other examples that might have been mentioned 
strongly indicate change in the parent plant, more extensive than 
those involved in the mere production of seed, or even of seed and 
fruit. They suggest a constitutional modification of varying and 
sometimes of wide range, involving other organs than those directly 
concerned in fructification, and enduring for years after the imme- 
diate cause has ceased to act. It seems far from improbable that a 
single act of fertilization may, in some cases, so change the nature 
of the parent plant that it may not again, throughout its whole life, 
be what it had previously been. Some of the occult variations that 
occur among plants may have their cause in the potent influence of 
pollen on the constitution of the parent. 
The other kingdom of animated nature supplies facts that lend 
strong support to the view above stated. Without going into detail, 
it will suffice to say that the influence of the male animal is often 
permanent, and that young, subsequently produced, will show traces 
of it. 
The influence of a quagga on a mare has been known to reveal it- 
self years afterward by the production of a colt showing in several 
places the stripes of his stepfather. Darwin has collected several 
such cases, and many more might, without doubt, be brought to- 
gether by a little investigation among men engaged in the breeding 
of animals. The subject, however, especially with regard to plants, 
has not received the attention which its importance deserves. 
AG 87 21 
