42 HISTORY OF FRUITS. 



elucidate it more plainly by plates from drawings which 

 we have made from the blossoms for the express purpose, 

 knowing how little even the botanical terms are under- 

 stood by the farmers, and many gardeners in the country. 



Mr. Knight, in his Pomona Herefordiensis, says, " Tt 

 is necessary to contrive that the two trees from which you 

 intend to raise the new kind, should blossom at the same 

 time ; therefore if one is an earlier sort than the other, it 

 must be retarded by shading, or brought into a cooler 

 situation, and the latest forwarded by a warm wall or a 

 sunny situation, so as to procure the blossoms at the 

 same period." 



The apple-blossom contains about twenty stamina or 

 males, which are represented in Plate I. No. 3. and gene- 

 rally five pointals or females, which form the centre of the 

 cup or cavity of the blossom, as in Figure No. 4. The 

 males stand in a circle, just within the bases of the petals, 

 or flower leaves, and are formed of slender threads, each 

 of which terminates in a small yellow ball or anther, as in 

 Fig. 5. As soon as the blossoms are nearly full grown, 

 as in Fig. 1, they must be carefully opened, and all the 

 male stamina cut or extracted, so as not to injure the 

 pointals or females, which will then appear as in Fig. 4. 

 The blossoms are then closed again, as in Fig. 1, and 

 suffered to remain till they open spontaneously. From 

 the blossoms of the tree, which it is proposed to make 

 the male parent of the future variety, must be taken a 

 portion of their pollen or farina, when ready to fall from 

 the mature anthers; and this pollen must be deposited 

 upon the pointals of the blossoms of the tree which is -in- 

 tended to bear the variety, which consequently will afford 

 seed. By shaking the blossoms over a sheet of white 

 paper, you will ascertain when the pollen is ready. It is 

 necessary in this experiment, to cover the branches on 

 which the prepared blossoms are, with a thin muslin or 



