GEN 
nomy proceed;' fo that the blood in animals being 
the fame with the lap in plants, and both being con- 
veyed after the fame manner throughout the feveral 
bodies, it neceffarily follows, that the one as well as 
the other, muft have proper veffels for fecretion of 
the feminal matter. 
Let it then be confidered, that the fap or nutritious 
juice afcends in common to the pedicle of the flower, 
as the blood flows by the aorta defcendens •, and that 
at the calyx or bottom of the flower, fome fhare goes 
to one part of it, and fome to another •, as the aorta 
fends one branch to the fpermatic veffels, and the re- 
mainder of it goes to perform the other functions ; 
and as a part of the fap is feparated by the pedicle of 
the flower, when the remainder is diftributed through- 
out the remaining parts of the plant, fo the arteria 
prteparans goes directly to the teftes in the males, and 
ovarium in the female : and in flowers fome veffels 
tend direff ly to the calyx (if it becomes the fruit) or 
to the perianthium (if there be any,) fome to the pe- 
tala, fome to the ftamina, fome to the piftillum or 
uterus, as it is called by Malpighius. 
Thefe things being ferioufly refleffed on, we muff of 
neceffity conclude, 
1. That the fame due care is taken to elaborate and 
prepare the more fubtile and impenetrable particles of 
the nutritious juice in plants, as of the blood in 
animals. 
2. This fubftance fo prepared, as it muff be defigned 
for fome extraordinary ufe, fo this ufe can be no other 
than that of being the means of fecundating the fe- 
male feed in plants, as the other is of the feminine 
oval in animals. 
If any one fhall take a flower full blown, and pull 
one of the ftamina from the pedicle, he will find a 
rough vifcid liquor, like to the fperma, which remains 
here till its moft fubtle parts have afcended the fta- 
men, or perhaps the more grofs particles might have 
remained there, after the moft fubtile had afcended, 
before the flower was blown ; this is as plain and de- 
monftrable as can be in the Lilies, particularly in the 
Orange Lily, and moft of the Martagon Lilies, there 
is a contrivance more obvious. 
This vifcid liquor afcending by parallel duffs to the 
apex, there this fubtile matter is retained till it is 
farther elaborated by the evaporations of the more 
humid and aqueous particles, by the heat of the fun; 
and then it becomes a moft fubtile, fine, impalpable 
dull, which is then faid to be ripe, and is called the 
farina. 
Dr. Blair, after having given the fentiments of feven 
different authors upon the fubjeff, proceeds to give 
his own, without fubfcribing to the fentiment of either 
the one or the other ; and endeavours by a ftriff ex- 
amination of the flowers themfelves, to find out which 
of thefe two opinions, fo diametrically oppofite to each 
other, are moft agreeable to faff. 
But before he begins, he lays down this general 
maxim, which he takes for granted, that nature is 
uniform in all her operations, and never recedes from 
thofe rules laid down by the wife Difpofer of all things 
at the creation, by performing the fame thing after 
two different and contrary methods ; and thence con- 
cludes, that if the farina be a congeries of feminal 
plants in one fpecies, it muft be fo in all. 
If there be an open and direff paffage, or though it 
be not fo direff, yet if by any direff paffage, by which 
it can be demonftrated, that one fingle grain of the 
farina can enter every individual feed in one plant, it 
muft be fo in all ; but if neither of thefe hold good, 
and if it can be proved by ocular infpeff ion, without 
the affiftance of a microfcope, in thofe very plants 
exemplified by Mr. Morland, Mr. Geoffroy, and Mr. 
Bradley, that the farina in fubftance cannot enter the 
feminal veffel ; or if it does, that there is no direff 
paffage for it to enter each particular feed, after it has 
fo got into the capfula or filiqua; then he hopes, 
both their queries, fuppofitions, and affertions, muft 
fall. 
As for the Corona Imperialis, the firft example given 
GEN 
by Mr. Morland, the flower of which hangs down* 
wards, though he does not deny but its ftylus may be 
hollow all the way, and that it may be open at the 
extremity, yet by its fituation, and feveral other 
cumftances, it does not feeni to him to favour this 
opinion. 
For firft, as there is a continual conflux of particles 
through the fkin in animal bodies, it is alfo fo in ve- 
getables : this appears by the immediate fading of 
flowers, or any other part of the plant, after it has 
been plucked off ; which proceeds from the evapora- 
tion of the particles in the little tubes, without any- 
more fucceeding in their place. 
He thinks it as reafonable to fuppofe, that thefe par- 
ticles flow out by the hollow ftylus, as by any other 
part, and alfo more fenfibly there than elfewhere, be* 
caufe of their being concentrated within fuch narrow 
bounds ; and that if thefe particles defcend by the 
ftylus hanging downwards, the particles, or rather 
grains of the farina, can never afcend the fame way. 
2dly, That if it fhould be granted, that thefe grams 
did afcend by the ftylus, how do they get into the fe- 
minal veffel ; that being clofely fliut up, as will ap- 
pear to any one who fhall obferve it. 
^dly, Whereas Mr. Morland fuppofes, that the rain 
either wafhes it, or the wind fhak.es it down the tube, 
till it reaches the feminal veffel ; Dr. Blair obferves, 
that the extremity which is the upper part of the ftylus 
in an ereff flower, muft be the lower in a dependent 
one ; fo tha't if either the ram or wind have accefs to 
it, it muft neceffarily either wafh or drive it away from 
the feminal veffel, which is now the ftylus. 
But here the Doffor takes notice of another contri- 
vance, for anfwering that purpofe, i. e. a fort of a 
pelvis or ciftern, called by Linnaeus neftarium, ft- 
tuated at the origin or root of each petalon, filled with 
a vifcous liquor which continues there, and never ex- 
ceeds its bounds fo long as the petalon is in health : 
for flnce the apices are here fo artfully fixed, that they 
turn every way with the leaft wind, as Mr. Morland 
rightly obferves, when they burft, and the farina is 
driven to and fro, though it cannot fo eaflly enter the 
tube, yet it may conveniently be blown up towards 
the orifice of the petala furrounding the ftylus, where 
it is flopped or flaid by this vifcofity, till it has per- 
formed its office. 
To confirm this, he inftances Mr. Fairchild, who, he 
fays, being perfuaded that this vifcous liquor did fome 
way or other contribute towards the f ruff ifying of this 
plant, but not underftanding how it did fo, he tried 
the experiment, by wiping this liquor off as loon as 
it was depofited in the pelvis, and the flower which 
he fo ferved did not bear any fruit. 
And the way the doffor accounts for this is, that the 
humidity being removed, the farina is no fooner blown 
upwards, than it immediately falls down, without 
producing any effeff ; and that which he takes to be 
a confirmation of this is, that both Tulips and Fri™ 
tillarias have this pelvis or bafon, yet it is for the moft 
part dry and empty ; becaufe the flowers of the for- 
mer being ereff, they have no fuch need of this liquor 
to retain the dull ; for that the rain, having immediate 
accefs to them, may wafh the duft towards the origin 
of the petala, where it can remain till it has performed 
its office ; whereas the rain having no accefs to the 
inner furface of the flower of the Corona Imperialis, 
it is naturally endowed with this humidity, depofited 
there by feveral excretory duffs, in order to render 
it fit for the purpofe : and Malpighius himfelf takes 
notice of this Angularity in this flower, though he af~ 
cribes no ufe to it. 
The next example propofed- by Mr. Morland, is the 
Yellow Lily, which, according to his figure, is rep re - 
fented as having the apices equally high with the top 
of the ftylus, and the petala over-topping each other 5 
whereas he fays, that by the narroweft infpeffion he 
ever could make, the top of the apices (they being 
then perpendicularly fituated) reaches no higher than 
the neck of the button upon the top of the ftylus, 
and that this is before the apices begin to burft and 
6 A fhed 
