PREFACE. it 



We shall not attempt to lay all these proofs before 

 the reader ; our business is to explain, not to demon- 

 strate ; but as it may be satisfactory to see some me 

 fact established, that carries conviction with it 

 shall here give an extract of a letter from Berlin, in- 

 serted in the Philosophical Transactions *, concerning 

 a remarkable experiment made on the Palm-tree. 



Extract of Mr Mylius's letter to Mr Watson dated 

 at Berlin, Feb.20, 1751. 



" The sex of plants is very well confirmed, by an 

 " experiment that has been 'made here on the Pa I ma 

 ' major foliis stapeliiformibus. There is a great 

 c tree of this kind in the garden of the Royal Aca- 

 * demy. It has flowered and bore fruit these thirty 

 " years, but the fruit never ripened, and when plant- 

 " ed, it did not vegetate. The Palm-tree, as you 

 " know, is a Planta Dioecia, that is, one of those in 

 <c which the male and female parts of generation 

 " are upon different plants. We having no male 

 " plants , the flowers therefore of our female were ne- 

 " ver impregnated by the farina of the male. There 

 " is a male plant of this kind in a garden et Leipsic 

 " twenty German miles from Berlin. We procured 

 " from thence at Berlin in 1749 a branch of male 

 " flowers, and suspended it over our female ones, 

 " and our experiment succeeded so well, that our 

 " Palm-tree produced more than an hundred perfect- 

 " ly ripe fruit ; from which we have already eleven 

 " young Palm-trees. This experiment was repeated 

 " last year, and our Palm-tree bore above two thou- 

 / sand ripe fruit. As I do not remember a like ex- 

 ' periment, I thought it convenient to 1 mention it to 

 " you ; and if you think proper, be pleased to com- 

 6 ' f municate it to the Royal Society." 



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