PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 



401 



VOL. LXIII.] 



and exposed to the cold air, did not in the least partake of the activity of the 

 rest, but were absolutely in the same state which all trees are in during winter. 

 A rose-tree, in the same position, showed long shoots with leaves and buds; it 

 had even shot a vigorous branch on its stalk, while a branch which passed 

 through to the outside had not begun to produce any thing, but was in the same 

 state with other rose-trees left in the ground. This branch is 4 lines in diame- 

 ter, and 18 inches high. 



The rose-tree on the outside was in the same state; but one of its branches 

 drawn through to the inside of the hot-house, was covered with leaves and rose- 

 buds. It was not without astonishment that Mr. M. saw this branch shoot as 

 briskly as the rose-tree which was in the hot-house, whose roots and stalk, ex- 

 posed as they were to the warm air, ought, it should seem, to have made it get 

 forwarder than a branch belonging to a tree, whose roots, tnmk, and all its 

 other branches were at the very time frost-nipt. Notwithstanding this, the 

 branch did not seem affected by the state of its trunk ; but the action of the 

 heat on it produced the same effect, as if the whole tree had been in the hot- 

 house. 



It would be useless to give an account of the diary he kept throughout the 

 course of this interesting experiment. It may be sufficient to observe, that the 

 walk of nature was uniformly the same. The interior branches continued their 

 productions in a regular manner, and the external ones began theirs at the same 

 time, and in the same manner as they would have done, had they been left in 

 the ground. The fruits of the interior branches of the apple-tree were, in the 

 beginning of May, of the size of nutmegs; while the blossoms but just began 

 to show themselves on the branches without. Mr. M. observed that 3 of the 

 flower-buds of the apple-tree had been gnawed ofl^ by a snail in such a manner, 

 that all the petals and stamens had disappeared, being eaten up close to the 

 calyx. This not having been entered by the snail, the basis of the pistillum and 

 the embryo were preserved. He took it for granted that these flowers would 

 bear nothing; but he was soon convinced of his mistake. Almost all of them 

 bore fruit; the apples were perfectly formed, and 6 or 7 pretty large ones too 

 were seen on each bunch. On the other hand, the snail had spared some other 

 bunches, doubtless because more difficult to be got at; but out of 10 or 12 

 flowers in each bunch, not above ] or 2 showed any signs of fruit. This sug- 

 gested the idea, that when the flowers of trees are full blown, the prevention of 

 the natural fall of the petals and stamens gives a greater assurance of the fructi- 

 fication : and on several times repeating the following experiment, he convinced 

 himself that it did so. In imitation of the snail, he cut with his scissars the 

 petals of apple, pear, plum, and cherry blossoms, close to the calyx. Almost 



VOL. XIII. 3 F 



