344 LINNiEUS AND THE JUSSIEUS 



flower is defined as a collection of sexual organs, usually 

 enclosed by protective tunics. Like Malpighi, Vaillant 

 pushes very far the analogy with the reproductive 

 organs of the higher vertebrates, making the filament 

 of the stamen a vas deferens and the styles Fallopian 

 tubes. " II est tr^s certain," he says, *' que le germe se 

 rencontre dans les semences des plantes qui n'ont point 

 6t6 feconddes, et avec le parenchyme desquelles ce 

 germe ne fait qu'un continu." He exposes with merciless 

 sarcasm the real or supposed mistakes of Tournefort, 

 Geofiroy and Leeuwenhoek, the fallacies of the hollow 

 style, of pollen passing into the micropyle, and of 

 fertilising filaments. His contempt rouses at last 

 indignation in his readers, who begin to ask whether 

 Vaillant himself is altogether above criticism. Before 

 the Discours comes to an end the question receives its 

 answer. Vaillant cites Malpighi (at second-hand) to 

 prove that frogs and chicks may develop in unfertilised 

 eggs,^ and goes on to assure us that a "soufile" (the 

 ** aura seminalis " of Swammerdam, the ** subtle and 

 vivifick effluvium " of Grew) passes along the lax tissues 

 of the style, thence by the tracheal vessels to the pla- 

 centas, and so by the umbilical cords to each little ^1 

 germ or embryo (which, it is to be remarked, Vaillant ™ 

 supposes to be ready-formed before fertilisation), " qui 

 presente sa radicule au trou de la coque de I'oeuf avec 

 lequel s'abouche le cordon umbilical, pour recevoir de 

 ce cordon et le souffle et la nourriture " (p. 20). 



No words are required to show the futility of such an 

 explanation as this, and we shall not discuss further 

 Vaillant's contribution to the sexual theory of plants. 

 It is better worth while to note that explanations very 



1 The passage in Malpighi will be found in the De Formatione Pulli in Ovo, 

 p. 2. I find no mention here of frogs, nor any hint that the egg of the chick 

 was unfertilised. 



