Animals and Plants. 309 



observations on the Parthenogenesis of Charii crinita, a plant of 

 which no males have ever been found in Germany, though all the 

 females are bearing fruit in abundance. Of the utmost importance 

 is a paper by Naudin, published first by the French Academy, 

 and translated by me into English and German ; in which will be 

 found not only a confirmation of the observations of Ramish on 

 Mercurialis annua, but also of those of Spallanzani and Bernhardi 

 on Cannabis sativa, and some new observations on Bryonia dioica. 



It had been mentioned by Wenderoth and others that the 

 monoecious Ricinus communis, the Castor Oil plant, produced 

 ripe seed Avithout the aid of pollen ; but the direct observations of 

 Naudin show that such is not the case, and that so far from exhi- 

 bitingany tendency towards Parthenogenesis, all the female flowers 

 fell off the moment the male ones were removed ; a similar eflfect 

 was produced on Esbalium elaterium, another monoecious plant, 

 all the female flowers of which faded after the male ones of the 

 same specimen were taken oflf; observations which justify us in con- 

 sidering as doubtful the existence of a Parthenogensis in monoe- 

 cious plants, but has established it in nine dioicious ones belonging 

 to seven diSerent natural orders : Chara crinita, Cannabis sativa 

 Spinasia oleracea, Coelebogyne ilicifolia, Mercurialis annua, Pis- 

 tacia narbonensis, and another species, Bryonia dioica, Datisca 

 cannabina. 



How this fact will clash with the existing theories on the 

 origin and formation of the embryo, I will not attempt to discuss. 

 Various explanations will, no doubt, be attempted, but the most 

 common of all, and one that has already been promulgated, that 

 of looking upon this reproduction as a kind of gemmation, must 

 be rejected ; for the seedlings raised from the ovula developed 

 without the aid of pollen, are in most cases in which observa- 

 tions have been made, of both the female as well as the male 

 sex ; if they were always females, like the mother-plant, then 

 the gemmation theory would have something to recommend it ; 

 but as the case stands it must be given up as untenable. 



The existence of a Parthenogenesis in animals and plants throws 

 more light upon the history of the embryo than the most able 

 and valued physiological researches could possibly do ; it shows 

 more clearly than the most lucid explanation, that the origin of 

 the embryo has not to be looked for in the pollen of plants, or the 

 semen of animals, but in the ovula and ova themselves. And it is 

 in this hint, science recognizes the real practical utility of this 



