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310 The Botanical Gazette. - (August, 
soft and tender may justly be called the ova or eggs. Toeach 
ovum, there adheres a white, fine, smooth filament, which ex- 
cepting that it is hollow, resembles a thread of silk. These 
filaments are disposed, one by one, in order, betwixt the rows 
from that end where the ear rises from the stalk to the other, 
where they creep from under the base, that encloses the ear, 
and make their appearance, in the open air, in a bundle or 
skein. Their color in this part is mostly whitish, though 
sometimes a little yellow, red or purple, according to the na- 
ture of the plant they grow from. These filaments, as I for 
merly suspected are the real styles of the eggs. oe 
‘Intending, therefore, to make some experiments on this 
plant, towards the end of April, I planted four or five grains 
on hillocks, as is usual in sowing maize, in each corner of a 
little garden I had in town, which was forty feet wide and 
eighty feet long. About the beginning of August, when the 
plants were full grown, and the tufts on the top, and the ears 
on the stem had acquired their full extent, I cut off these tults 
from every plant on one hillock. On another without meq 
dling with the tufts, I gently opened the leaves that covere 
in the ears, and cut away from some all the styles and then nae 
closed the leaves again; from others a quarter part, from 
others one half, and from others three quarters, and left the 
rest untouched. I covered another ear, before the skein of 
styles appeared out of the case, with a piece of very fine, ar 
muslin, but so loosely, that its growth could not be injers 
and whilst the fuzzy texture of the muslin suffered it to eee 
all the benefit of the sun, air and showers, the ae ve 
effectually secluded. I left the plants on the fourth hi va 
as I did these except in the circumstances above mention 
unmolested till they were fully ripe. ‘ 
About the beginning of October, when it 
inquire into the success of my experiments, I ut off 
lowing observations. In the first hillock, where I had : their 
all the tufts, the ears whilst they remained covered ‘ct 
husks, looked indeed very well, but were small, alg oe 
light when handled; and not one perfect grain to a e 
in them, except in one large ear, which grew yore wer ich 
farther from the stalk than usual, and on that side se ee 
faced another hillock in a quarter from whence OF » ad abe 
winds most commonly blow. In this ear a I ee rtributed 
was time to ‘ id 
made the fol- - 
twenty grains which were full grown and ripe 
Po 
