PASCIATION. 19 



Gehsia, &c. This couditiou jiiiiy bo jaduced by the 

 art of the gardener " Fit iderni drte^ si plures caules 

 enascentes cvyantur penotrare coardatwm spotlwra et par- 

 turii'i tanqaain ex angiisfo vtero, si-c scepe in Banuncido, 

 Beta., Asparago^ Hesperide PinUy .Cetosid^ Trafjopogone, 

 Scorzonerd Gotula feet Ida," Linnteiis op. eit. 



Plot, in his * History of Oxfordshire,' considers fas- 

 ciation to arise from the ascent of too much nourish- 

 ment for one stalk and not enough for two, " wliich 

 accident of plants," says Plot, the German virtuosi 

 (* Misc. Curios. Med. Physic. Acad. Nat. Cur.,' Ann. i, 

 Observ. 102,) " think only to happen after hard and 

 late winters, by reason whereof, indeed, the sap, being 

 restrained somewhat longer than ordinary, upon sudden 

 thaws may probably be sent up more forcibly, and so 

 produce these fasciated stalks, whereas the natural and 

 graduated ascent would have produced them but 

 single." Prof. Hincks' explanation is, however, more 

 near to the truth, and his opinion is borne out by the 

 frequency with which this change is met with in certain 

 plants which are frequently forced on during their 

 growth, as lettuce, asparagus, endive, &c., all of which 

 are very subject to this change. In the ' Transactions 

 of the Horticultural Society of London,' vol. iv, p. 321, 

 Mr. Knight gives an account of the cultivation of the 

 cockscomb, so as to ensure the production of the very 

 large flower-stalks for which this plant is admired. 

 The principal points in the culture were the applica- 

 tion of a large quantity of stimulating manure and the 

 maintenance of a high temperature. One of them so 

 grown measured eighteen inches in width. 



The list which is appended is intended to show those 

 plants in which fasciation has been most frequently 

 observed. It makes no pretension to be complete, but 

 is siifficiently so for the purpose indicated : the * denotes 

 the especial frequency of the change in cpiestion ; the ! 

 indicates that the writer has himself seen the plant, so 

 marked, affected in this way. The remainder have been 

 copied from various sources. 



