PLANTS. 
3 7 
when the antherae are ripe, is shed on the upper 
part of the pistil, from whence it is conveyed to the 
bud, as we have already seen in the jacobean lily. 
Where the pistillum is seated in one plant, and the 
stamina in another (of the same species), the an- 
therae have frequently an elastic membrane, which 
bursts at the appointed time, and disperses the dust 
to a considerable distance. This dust on a fine day 
may be seen, like a cloud, hanging about the com- 
mon nettle. 
The pistillum is that part of the flower in which 
the seed is inclosed. It is that erect column 
which is placed in the centre of the corolla, 
amidst the stamina ; and is designed to receive the 
nutriment shed upon its top or style, by the an- 
therae, for the welfare of the bud. Without this 
necessary process, the plant would not produce fer- 
tile seeds. This organ may be divided into three 
parts: the germen, or bud, which in fact is the base 
of the pistillum ; the style, which forms the shaft of 
the pillar; and the stigma, which, like a capital, sur- 
mounts the whole. 
The pericarpium is the case which incloses the 
germen after it is grown to maturity. This case, 
or seed-vessel, in many plants, bursts with an elastic 
force, and scatters its contents to a considerable 
distance. Sometimes it opens at the top, some- 
times at the bottom, and indeed in almost every 
possible direction. This seed-vessel, or, as it is very 
commonly called, the capsule , is composed of coats, 
which are strong when compared with the rest of 
