ABORTIONS. 131 



The teeth are the rudiments of stamens, and show that 

 there is a tendency in Flax to produce ten stamens, 

 but that, owing to some unknown constant cause, only 

 five of them are actually developed. This disposition 

 to form parts, without actually forming them, is what 

 Botanists call abortion ; and is one of the most common 

 of all phenomena. The knowledge of the fact is of great 

 importance, because it helps us to reconcile apparently 

 contradictorv circumstances, and to reduce, within 

 fixed rules, the laws that regulate the innumerable 

 modifications and combinations of the organs of plants. 

 One or two examples will make this clearer to you. 



It is an established axiom that the divisions or parts 

 of each successive whorl of organs, are placed alter- 

 nately with those which succeed them. Thus the fol- 

 lowing arranofement of letters will show the successive 

 positions of the parts of a flower that consists of five 

 sepals (S), five petals (P), five stamens (s), and five 

 carpels (c) ; provided the parts were placed in parallel 

 rows instead of concentrically — 



s s s s s 

 p p p p p 



s s s s s 



c c c c c 



so that the stamens would be opposite the sepals, and 

 the carpels opposite the petals. 



But if the number of petals were ten instead of five, 

 the position of the stamens, with respect to the sepals, 

 would be altered, and the latter would be opposite the 

 first or outer row of petals, thus — 



K 2 



