VOL. XLIV.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 23 J 



narrow inspection. 26. The farina began to decrease visibly, and continued td 

 do so till the 27th. When he perceived some red curled stamina, without any 

 apices, pushing themselves out at the top through the others. These were, 

 within their bend, thick set with a kind of hairs, and in their passage took a good 

 quantity of farina with them, which remained a day longer than that which was 

 contained in the apices. He could not observe the farina to fall on any parti- 

 cular part of the flower, but it seemed rather to be dispersed. When these 

 red stamina appear, the farina is going, and the apices, which contained it, 

 dead. 



The flower was kept till it withered, and the stylus, &c. cut off; but in 

 neither experiment was there found any difference, after a month's keeping the 

 iarina, except in the colour, which was deeper. Cutting off" the stylus, &c. 

 may have a considerable effect on the seed, but seems to have but little on the 

 flower : for though it was cut off" as soon as possible, yet the flower blew out the 

 same as if nothing had happened, till about the time that the farina might be sup- 

 posed to act ; then the petala began to look black next the stylus, and dropped 

 ofi" a day sooner than the regular blowing flower. 



Not having an opportunity of pursuing this further, for want of flowers and 

 warm weather, he applied to other experiments. He brushed off" some dry fa- 

 rina, and putting Thames water to it, found it would not burst, under the space 

 of 7 or 8 minutes, and not till they are soaked in the liquid: for, at the time of 

 acting, they seldom or never lie upon each other, but float ofi^, till they are clear 

 of all encumbrances. 



In making experiments on a fresh-blown hollyhock, he observed a lusus na- 

 turae of 2 globules quite smooth and shining, contrary to their nature, which is 

 rough : one of these acted very soon, the other not at all. The whole farina 

 seem to have a strong suction ; for he was obliged, in the space of 10 minutes, 

 to apply water 3 times, in order for them to have enough to act in ; and he, ob- 

 served that they burst with a greater force, and throw out a much larger pulp, 

 when thrown into a depth of water. 



The passion-flower appears on several accounts to be the fittest flower for ex- 

 periments on the farina of any. 



This farina appears, by Mr. Guam's double reflecting microscope, magn. 6, 5, 

 4, to be a smooth round globule, of a pretty full yellow, like the appearance, 

 fig. 12, pi. 4, which shows the area of the microscope. These globules, on 

 being more magnified, are found to have some 3 circles, as fig. 13, others 2, 

 others none. Among these many were quite white; but he never observed these 

 act. When the globules, fig. 13, come to be magnified with the first or second 

 magnifier, they appear indented, exactly like fig. 14. All the coloured ones, 

 though differently marked, yet all act alike. And these act in a much less space 



