Miscellaneous, 223 



obtained by M. Bouschet-Bernard pere and M. Henri Bouschet 

 between various southern stocks {aramon, grenachsy &c.) with 

 colourless juice and the grape called the Teinturier, of which the 

 juice is coloured. Leaving out of consideration M. H. Bouschet' s 

 notions, in our opinion incorrect, of the influence of the pollen of the 

 "Teinturier" as a direct modifier of the ovary of the varieties which 

 it fecundates, we admit as indubitable the mixed, hybrid nature of 

 the Petit Bouschet or Aramon-teinturiery and of the Alicant- 

 Bouschet, and even of quadroon hybrids, all with coloured juice, 

 between the Petit Bouschet and other stocks with colourless juice. 

 Now in these cases the impregnation was effected by a very simple 

 process, namely the approximation of the flowering bunches of the two 

 types by interlacing and contact. This last condition, however, is not 

 indispensable. It is sufficient that the distance of the bunches to be 

 mutually fecundated be but small ; the seeds of the approximated 

 grapes furnished mixed products having evident traces of the cha- 

 racters of their parents. 



What, in this process and generally in nature, is the agent of 

 transport of the pollen from one flower to another ? Is it the wind ? 

 Is it the mutual friction of the flowers in contact ? Is it the inter- 

 vention of insects ? Perhaps one or all of these, according to circum- 

 stances. That the wind transports mixed pollinic dust will not be 

 disputed by any one who has seen the flowering bunches of the 

 vine, their abundance and their pulverulent and light pollen. That 

 friction may act is probable in the case of stocks which, like those of 

 the southern vines, so slightly interlace their branches and flori- 

 ferous thyrsi. Lastly, we may suppose that insects assist, at least as 

 regards the nocturnal Lepidoptera (Noctuidce, Pyralidce, &c.) ; in 

 the daytime, on the contrary, we have only seen upon the flowers of 

 the vine, at least habitually, a species of Dasytes, and a larva or 

 nympha of a Locusta, leaving out of the account the caterpillars of 

 Pyralisy and especially of Gochylis, which haunt the bunches rather 

 as enemies than as auxiharies, and destroy much more than they 

 fecundate. 



To sum up. The impregnation of the flowers of the vine is 

 efi^ected habitually beneath the hood of the corolla ; each flower then 

 fecundates itself. Foreign pollen may nevertheless, in various ways, 

 attain the stigma of flowers, either unimpregnated (avalidou'ires, 

 coulards) or already covered with pollen. The sterility of certain 

 flowers is explained by the imperfection of the stamina {avali- 

 douires, coulards) ; that of the young or pruned " Lambrusque '* is 

 probably caused by the too great vigour of the vegetation, a deriva- 

 tion of the sap from the flowers towards the leaves ; that of the 

 double flowers is due to the transformation of the stamina and 

 pistils into petaloid or foliaceous organs. 



It may be added that the floral degenerations known as avali' 

 dou'ires, coulards^ and double flowers appear sometimes suddenly in 

 vines which presented no traces of them, that they occur especially 

 in wet soils in which the rains of winter and spring remain, that 

 they afifect entire stocks, that they persist habitually in the stock 



