OF NATURAL HISTORY. 26^ 



« Thn5 far/ continues our author, « there is a perfect 

 ^agreement with the obfervations made on the feeds offome 



< hermaphrodite plants, which feemed, notwithftanding they 

 « were deprived of the eiFicacy of the pollen, to have acquir- 

 « ed the fame degree of perfedlion as thofe impregnated in 



< the ufual manner. But, as they did not grow, however 



< perfect they might be in appearance, becaufe they had not 



< been vivified by the pollen, I imagined, that, for the fame 

 « reafon, the feeds of my three gourds would not grow. It 

 ' was, however, proper to make the experiment. I therefore 

 f dried one hundred and fifty in the fun, and afterwards 



< planted them in three pots, fifty in each, taken from fepa- 

 « rate gourds. But the latenefs of the feafon, it being the 

 « 10th of October, the confiant rain, and the coUnefs occa- 

 «fioned by it, circumftances unfavourable to vegetation, 



< obliged me to place my pots in a ftove, which, though it 



< was not heated, v/as kept warm by a contiguous chimney, 

 « The event did not by any ?neans correfpond to my expectation. I 

 * took it for granted^ that none of the feeds would germitjate j 

 ^ and yet they alniDfi all came up very well *.' 



Here it is pleafant to obferve candour and fair experiment 

 triumphing over deep prejudice. From the above, and many 

 other paiTages, it is evident that Spalanzani was a keen fex- 

 iialift, and that he expected his experiments, inftead of over- 

 throwing, w^culd confirm his faith •, but, like a true phiiofo- 

 pher, he candidly, though w^ith reluctance, unhinges his fa- 

 vourite opinion. 



* I referved the remainder of the feeds,' continues Spalan- 

 zani, < for another experiment to be made the following 



< fpring. Before it can be afierted that fructification has 

 ^ been complete, it is neceflliry, according to the deter- 



< mination of botanifls, not only that the feeds fliould grow, 

 « but that they fhouid alfo be capable of bringing produ(Stive 



♦ Spalu-nzaui's DilTcrtationSj vol z. p. 276. &c. 



