AND PARTHENOGENESIS. 159 



tains that female virgin moths produced eggs, and 

 that these eggs produced young caterpillars ; and that 

 bees, in similar circumstances, produced eggs, which, 

 however, invariably gave existence to male bees, the 

 fertilized bee-egg alone developing into a female, 

 either worker or queen. 1 



Dr. Lankester stated at the meeting of the British 

 Association, in 1857, that Parthenogenesis exists 

 widely in the vegetable kingdom. 2 A remarkable 

 example is said to exist in Kew Garden, where a 

 certain solitary female plant, recently imported, con- 

 tinues to produce descendants yearly, though no male 

 plant has arrived in the land. 



Professor Owen thus explains Parthenogenesis. 

 All organisms, plant or animal, originate in a cell. 

 This cell spontaneously divides into two, these two 

 into four, and so on, till, instead of a cell, a mass is 

 present, called the " germ mass." In the animal, 

 the cells are placed side to side, and form what is 

 called the " mulberry mass," each cell carrying with 

 it a portion of the yolk. The " germ mass" evolves 

 the animal, and each cell reproduces the powers and 

 capacities of the primary germ-cell. The cells have 

 become transformed into tissues. But all the progeny 

 of the primary germ-cell are not required for the 

 formation of the body in all animals ; certain of the 

 derivative germ-cells may remain unchanged, and be- 

 come included in that body which has been composed 

 of their metamorphosed and diversely combined or 

 confluent brethren. So included, any derivative germ- 

 cell may commence and repeat the same processes by 



1 Lewes's Sea-Side Studies, p. U90. ' 2 Atherueum, 1857, p 1157. 



