74 LETTER XXXII. 



ovule is first formed it is no more than a mass of 

 pulp, in which little or no organization can he de- 

 tected internally ; but in process of time a small 

 cloudy speck forms in this pulpy interior, and keeps 

 orowino- larg^er and laroer, till at last it becomes an 

 embryo. It has been observed that the speck always 

 first becomes visible next the foramen ; and there is 

 great reason to believe that in reality the speck is in- 

 troduced into the ovule through the foramen. Fur- 

 ther, it is supposed that it is in the anther that this 

 speck is first formed ; that it originates in the inside of 

 a grain of pollen ; that when the pollen falls upon the 

 stigma, the former puts forth an excessively fine tube, 

 much finer than the most delicate hair ; that the tube 

 passes down the style, and continues to lengthen till it 

 reaches the foramen ; that the contents of the grain of 

 pollen are discharged into the tube, and the speck with 

 them ; that it is then, by some hidden and mysterious 

 ao-ency, carried down the tube ; and that, finally, it is 

 thus conveyed into the ovule through the foramen. For 

 all the evidence, and the many curious facts, connected 

 with this part of botany, I must refer you to modern 

 Introductions to the subject ; in this place, you must be 

 satisfied w^th my assurance, that this extraordinary 

 statement is supported, not only by observations of my 

 own, but bv the concurrent testimony of all the most 

 cautious and skilful microscopical observers who have 

 engaged in the inquiry. 



\VTiat I have already stated to you is extraordinary 

 enough, and much cause as you have already found 

 at every step to admire the wonderful care and skill 



