322 SEXUALITY OF VEGETABLES. CHAP. VI- 



pollen of any other plant of the same species, the 

 fruit will prove abortive. From a flower of the 

 Chdidonum corniculatum, or red-horned Poppy, 

 which was detached from all other individuals of 

 the same species, Linnaeus removed all the anthers 

 upon the first opening of the blossom, and stripped 

 off at the same time all the rest of the flowers ; but 

 the result of the experiment was that the flower pro- 

 duced no seed. 



A gardener who cultivated Melons and Cucum- 

 bers, but was no botanist, thinking that the sta- 

 meniferous flowers of the plant only exhausted the 

 nourishment due to the other flowers without being 

 of any utility in themselves, fancied that his plants 

 would be rendered more vigorous and his fruit of 

 superior flavour, and his profits consequently in- 

 creased, by means of tearing them off* altogether. But, 

 like the boy who cut open his goose that laid golden 

 eggs in the hope of getting rich all at once, he soon 

 found cause to repent of his rash experiment ; for 

 the consequence was that his plants produced no 

 fruit. 



Supplied Evper. 2. If after the anthers have been re- 

 fl hnt8of er move d> as m tne foregoing experiment, the pollen 

 the same o f another plant of the same species is shook over 

 the pistil, then the fruit will still ripen. This Lin- 

 naeus proved by first treating a flower of the Cheli* 

 donum corniculatum as in the foregoing experiment, 

 and then sprinkling over the pistil pollen borrowed 

 from another plant of the same species. The flower 



