GENERAL EEVIEW OP THE OllCHIBR.E. 



flower. At tliis iieriod tlio days wore getting short ami cold, and 

 artificial heat alone had to be depended on to maintain the plants in 

 liealLh, in consequence of which the investigations Avere stayed, it being 

 previously Icnuwn fmni experience that the seed-^ would not lie ripe 

 for some m<inths to come In fact the capsules tliat remained on the 

 plants used during these investigations did not mature their seed an<l 



Fig. 11. A group of ovules and pol^'n-tubps 

 ninety clays after pollination, X 1 'lO. 



dehisce till the end of May, or nearly twelve months after pollination. 



A number of seeds were examined with the aid of the microscope ; 



about one-half were found to be plump, the other half consistetl of 



mere dust and shrivelled ovules. 



From the foregoing observations the following general statements may 



be deduced. 



The impregnation of the ovules of 

 <.'att/pi/a Mossifp under glass in the 

 clinu\te of London takes place from 

 seventy-five to ninety days after the 

 jjollination of the flower, the length 

 of time being doubtless influenced by 

 the state of the weather during the 

 interval and especially by the amount 

 of direct sunlight the plants receive; 

 th(^ more direct sunlight the shorter 

 the interval and rice versa. 



A proportion of the ovules only are 

 fertilised, but how great that propor- 

 tion is, it is not possible to determine 

 with certainty ; it is never probably 

 much less than one-half ; it probably 

 varies from a little less to a little more 



than one-half. Tt is certain also that of the seeds which arc apparently 



mature and good, a greater or less proportion of them fail to germinate 



under artificial conditions. 



A group of civulcs live iiinntlis aflcr 

 pollination, X 70. 



