OF NATURAL HISTORY. 363 



bafHes all the powers of imagination. Thefe females, however, .uni- 

 formly produced ripe feeds ; and thefe feeds were as prolific as if 

 they had been furrounded with males. 



From the fadts and arguments above related, and many others 

 which might be adduced, it appears, that this beautiful theory, de- 

 rived from a miftaken analogy, has no foundation in Nature. I 

 would not have dwelt fo long on this fubjedt, if 1 had not fmcerely 

 wiflied that the minds of men might be emancipated from the fet- 

 ters of a fyftem which has too long received the almoft univerfal 

 affent of the literary world; and that the oeconomy of the vegetable 

 kingdom may again be open to impartial inquiries. 



C H A P.. 



