370 Notes and Gleanings. 



In order to put the matter to the test, seeds of the supposed crossed fruit 

 and of the normal plant were sown. In both cases, the seed germinated ; and 

 now the hybrid nature of one set of seedlings became apparent in the fact that 

 their appearance was exactly intermediate between the two parents above men- 

 tioned. Space will not permit us to give the -details, which are not only inter- 

 esting in a physiological point of vie-'-, but also in a cultural aspect, from the 

 elegance and beauty of the fruit of the hybrid plant. 



Subsequently, M. Germain de Saint Pierre continued his observations on 

 these interesting plants. He fertilized the flowers of his hyhnd Lageimria with 

 pollen from L. vulgaris and L. spJicerica (the original parents), and with pollen 

 from /,. ajigolensis. In this case, then, the hybrid flowers were impregnated 

 with pollen from three different species. Fruit of a similar character was pro- 

 duced in all cases ; but the seedlings derived from that fruit were either interme- 

 diate in character between the parent plants, or reverted almost entirely to one 

 or other of the parent species. 



In fine, these are M. Germain de Saint Pierre's conclusions from his experi- 

 ments : — 



" I. Fecundation may take place, if not frequently, at least occasionally {acci- 

 dentsllerncnt), between widely-different sjDecies, but belonging, nevertheless, to 

 the same genus, or to two very closely-allied genera. 



"2. The fruit produced as a consequence of artificial fertilization does not 

 differ, generally sjjeaking, from the normal fruit. 



"3. The same female flower (at least in these CuairbitacecE), with several 

 seeds, as in Lagcnaria, may be fertilized by pollen derived from several species 

 of the same genus, so that different seeds originating in the same fruit may 

 produce different plants, — plants, that is to say, having either the characters of 

 hybrids, of plants reverting to one or other of the parent species. 



"4. The seeds of the normal female flower, fertilized by the pollen of an- 

 other species, may all be perfect, and arrive at maturity : on the other hand, 

 fruit fertilized by the pollen of a hybrid plant produces only a small number of 

 perfect seeds, which arises from the fact, that, in hybrids, the ovules are not 

 usually perfectly formed. 



"5. Very generally, the stamens of the hybrid flowers are destitute of pollen, 

 or at least of effective pollen : hence the female flowers of hybrids, although they 

 might possess well-formed ovules, would still be sterile if they were not fertilized 

 by pollen from normal species. 



"6. The female sex is then, in this case, protected and preserved, while the 

 male is abandoned. . . . 



'• 7. A hybrid plant may present, in all its parts, characters perfectly interme- 

 diate between those peculiar to the malC' and to the female parent. . . . The 

 female plant seems only to furnish the teguments of the embryo, and, at a later 

 period, the material for its nutrition : the male plant seems to supply the first 

 constituent materials for the embryo. The ovule (in M. Germain de Saint 

 Pierre's opinion) is a bud produced on the carpellary leaf: the pollen grain is a 

 modilied cell belonging to the cellular tissue of the staminal leaf Nevertheless, 

 these two different organs impose, to an equal extent, the character of their 



