586 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 10 



confined situations, are either imperfect, or desti- 

 tute of their habitual size and beauty. 



175. Double Flowers are those in which the 

 stamens are transformed into petals; or in which 

 the latter, or the sepals, are multiplied. They 

 should not be confounded with Proliferous C183.) 

 and Discoid Compound Flowers. (184. J 



176. Although no certain rules for the produc- 

 tion of double flowers can be laid down, yet it is 

 probable that those flowers have the greatest 

 tendency to become double, in which the sexes are 

 habitually multiplied. 



177. In Icosandrous and Polyandrous plants 

 either the stamens or the pistilla are always very 

 numerous when the flowers are in a natural state; 

 and it is chiefly in such plants that double flowers 

 occur, when they become translbrmed. 



178. It is therelbre in such plants that double 

 flowers are to be principally expected. 



179. In proportion as the sexes of flowers ha- 

 bitually become few in number, do the instances 

 of double flowers become rare. 



180. Double Flowers are therefore least to be 

 expected in plants with fewest stamens. 



181. Whenever the component parts of a flow- 

 er adhere by their edges, as in monophyllous ca- 

 lyxes, monopetalous corollas, and monadelphous, 

 or di-, or poly-adelphous stamens, the tendency 

 to an unnatural multiplication of parts seems 

 checked. 



182. Therefore, in such cases Double Flowers 

 are little to be expected; they are in fact, very 

 rare. 



183. Proliferous Flowers, are those in which 

 parts that usually have all their axillary buds dor- 

 mant, acciilentally develope such buds; as in the 

 Hen and Chickens Daisy, in which the bractese of 

 the involucrum form other Daisy-heads in their 

 axillae; or, as in certain Roses, in which the car- 

 pellary leaves develope leaf-buds in their axillae, 

 BO that the flower becomes a branch, the lower 

 leaves of whidi are colored and transformed, and 

 the upper, green, and in their ordinary state. 



184. Discoid compound Flowers are those in 

 which the central florets of a flower-head acquire 

 corollas, likt* those of the circumference, as in the 

 Dahlia; the cultivated variety of which should be 

 called discoid, and not double. 



185. These two last are so essentially different 

 from double flowers, that whatever laws may be 

 supposed to govern the production or amelioration 

 of double Flowers, can have no relation to prolife- 

 rous or discoid compound Flowers. 



VII. Sexes. 



186. The sexes consist of two or more whorls 

 of transformed leaves, of v.'hich the outer are 

 called Stamens (188.^, and the inner Pistillum. 



cm.) 



187. They are known to be modifications of 

 leaves, because they very frequently are trans- 

 formed into petals which are demonstrabiy such 

 C149.); and because the.y occasionally revert to 

 the st^ite of leaves. 



188. The stamens bear at their apex an organ, 

 called the J/niher, which contams a powder called 

 pollen. 



189. When the anther is full grown, it opens 

 and emits the pollen, eitJier dispersing it in the air 

 in consequence of the elasticity with which it 



opens; or depositing it upon the stigma (191. J ; 

 or exposing it to the action of wind, or such other 

 disturbing causes as may liberate it from its case. 



190. The pollen consists of exceedingly minute 

 hollow balls, or cases containing myriads of mov- 

 ing particles, which are the fertilizing principle of 

 the stamens. 



191. The pistillum has at its base one or more 

 cavities or cells, in which bodies called ovula are 

 placed; and at its apex, one or more secreting sur- 

 faces, called stigmata. 



192. The ovula are the rudiments of seeds. 



193. If the fertilizing powder of the pollen 

 come in contact with the stitfma, the ovula in the 

 cells of the pistillum are vivified, and become 

 seeds. 



194. But if this contact does not take place, 

 the ovula cannot possibly be vivified, but shrivel 

 up and perish. 



195. The phenomena of vivification takes place 

 in consequence of the descent of a portion of the 

 moving particles figO.) of the pollen into the 

 ovula, where such panicles form the commence- 

 ment of future plants. 



196. In wild plants, a stigma is usually acted 

 upon only by the pollen of the stamens which be- 

 long to it. 



197. In this case, the seeds thus vivified, will, 

 when sown, produce new individuals, differing 

 very little fi-om that by which they were them- 

 selves produced. 



198. And, therefore, wild plants are for the 

 most part multiplied from generation to generation 

 without change. 



199. But It is possible to cause deviations from 

 this law, by artificial means. 



200. If the pollen of one species is placed upon 

 the stigma of another species, the ovula will be 

 vivified; and what is called a hybrid plant will be 

 produced, by those ovula when they shall have 

 grown to be seeds. 



201. Hybrid plants are different fi-om both their 

 parents, and are generally intermediate in charac- 

 ter between them. 



202. They have little power of perpetuating 

 themselves by seeds, but they may, if wood, be 

 perpetuated by cuttings (312.), buds (354.) scions 

 (335.), &c. 



203. Therefore, no hybrids but such as are of 

 a woody parennial character can be perpetuated. 



204. It usually happens that the hybrid has the 

 constitution and general aspect of the pollenife- 

 rous parent; but is influenced in secondary charac- 

 ters by the peculiarity of the female parent. 



205. This should always be borne in mind, in 

 procuring new hybrid plants. 



206. Real hybrid plants must not be con- 

 founded with such as are spurious, in consequence 

 of their origin being between two varieties of 

 the same species, and not two species of the same 

 genus. 



207. Hybrid plants, although incapable of per- 

 petuation by seed, are often more abundant flow- 

 erers than either parent. 



208. This is, probably, connected with consti- 

 tutional debility. (162.J 



VIII. Fruit. 



209. Fruit, strictly speakings is the pistillum ar- 

 rived at maturity. 



