SEED. 51 



laws capable of affording unerring rules of 

 action. 



My. Knight says he liad observed gene- 

 rally a strong prevalence of the constitution and 

 habits of the plant whose pistil was fertilized by 

 the pollen of another. Mr. Herbert, in discuss- 

 ing a hybrid Cytisus, thinks that the plant with 

 the pistil influences the leaf, and that with the 

 pollen the flower and fruit. This gentleman in 

 his work on AmaryllidaceeE, has given a most 

 interesting and detailed account of many years 

 experience on Hybridisation. 



The experience of Van Mons in raising new 

 varieties of fruit trees from seed, has been emi- 

 nently valuable and successful, and no doubt 

 would throw light on this subject. 



Seed. 



The seed is the ovulum arrived at perfection. 



It consists of various coverings enclosing an 

 embryo, being the granule of pollen deposited 

 there, which is the rudiment of a future plant. 



The seed is nourished by the same means as 

 the fruit ; and, like it, will be more or less per- 

 fectly formed, according to the abundance of 

 its nutriment. 



