68 On the accidental Intermixture of Character in 



pollen of one variety of the Plum, the Pear, the Apple, the 

 Cherry, the Peach, the Melon, and other fruits, into the blos- 

 soms of others, of very different and opposite habits, and I 

 have never (although I have most closely attended to the 

 results) found in any one instance, the form, colour, size, or 

 flavour of the fruit belonging to such blossoms in any degree 

 whatever changed, or affected. The fruit and seed coats, in all 

 cases, which have come under my inspection, are given wholly 

 by the female parent ; and the interior and essential parts of 

 the seeds, those which constitute the future plant, are alone 

 changed by the male parent, without which, I believe, these 

 never exist. I therefore conceive myself fully qualified to 

 decide, that in the deviations of the fruits mentioned from their 

 ordinary character, the operation of the pollen of another 

 variety was not the disturbing cause. 



Note by the Secretary. 

 There can be no doubt of the fact, that Apples produced 

 on contiguous branches of trees growing near to each other do 

 occasionally assume the shape and appearance of their neigh- 

 bouring variety. The specimens described by Mr. Turner, 

 were all shewn to me, and they bore such decidedly different 

 characters from what properly belonged to them, and ap- 

 proached so much in resemblance to the kinds near to which 

 they had grown, that it was impossible not to admit the 

 change to have taken place in consequence of then conti- 

 guity. The difficulty of the subject at present lies in assigning 

 the cause to the effect produced. 



