314 On the Fertilization of the Female Blossoms of Filberts. 



Filbert on these trees, and, although I do not remember their 

 number, yet I perfectly recollect that I grasped the whole at 

 once in my single hand. 



In the following month of October, before the leaves were 

 well off, I cut short the boughs which had projected into the 

 garden, thinned them considerably, by taking out some of the 

 oldest, crooked, and stunted wood, and pruned what remained 

 with some severity ; at this time there appeared a pretty fan- 

 shew of young catkins, but by no means so many as in the 

 autumn of the former year (1820). By the 26th of January 

 following, (1822,) these catkins had nearly all disappeared, 

 and of those few which remained not one would have blos- 

 somed in any degree of perfection. However, as it was my 

 intention to repeat the experiment of auxiliary catkins, I 

 caused every remaining one to be carefully picked off; that 

 in the event of any fruit ripening the next season, the source 

 of the fructifying dust might be subject to no uncertainty. 

 On the 18th of February, (1822,) I caused several small 

 branches of the catkins of the Hazel to be suspended on 

 them, as I intended that the operation should be performed 

 only once, at which time, it is proper to state, I saw so very 

 few female blossoms (from the bearing wood having been so 

 much diminished by the pruning in the previous autumn) 

 that I concluded it to be impossible there could be much 

 fruit, but that if there should be any, the pollen of the sus- 

 pended amenta of the Hazel must have a share in their 

 production. 



The next day (February 19th, 1822), I made a visit to a 

 neighbouring farmer's orchard, who has a row of four Filbert 

 bushes which have been growing therein, quite in a state of 



