THE SELF-FERTILIZATION OF PLANTS. 335 



corolla, anthers, ovules, stigma, ovaries, seeds, seed- 

 capsules, medicinal qualities, &c, are, save in a few ex- 

 ceptional cases, found to be wanting, in each Plant, as 

 it exists under nature. Besides the loss of one, or of 

 several of these characters, there is a false ratio of the 

 development of those remaining. Frequently, too, 

 though developed, in structure, characters are rudimen- 

 tary, in function. 



Nor is this degeneration, in structure (necessarily 

 resulting, exhypothesi, in lessened fertility and sterility), 

 at all remedied, when the plants are placed under 

 domestication. The physiological injury has only 

 been augmented, by the " improvements" which Man 

 has effected. As Darwin confesses : 



" Cultivated races of Plants often exhibit an abnor- 

 mal character, as compared with natural species ; for 

 they have been modified, not for their own benefit, 

 but for that of Man " (page 14, Vol. i, Animals and 

 Plants, &c). 



Man even augments the degeneration, commenced 

 by the adverse conditions of nature : 



"With cultivated Plants," says Darwin (p. 380, Vol. 

 ii, Animals and Plants, &c), " it is far from rare, to 

 find the petals, stamens, and pistils represented by ru- 

 diments, like those observed in natural species. So it 

 is, with the whole seed, in many fruits. * * In cer- 

 tain varieties of the gourd, the tendrils, according to 

 Naudin, are represented by the rudiments, or various 

 monstrous growths." 



In fact, it is not possible to mention any organ, or 

 part of a plant, which has not, in some species, under 

 cultivation, been systematically or unintentionally re- 



