TLANTS. 
23 
fined to the liliaceous plants alone ; it has been ob- 
served in many species of vegetables totally differ- 
ent from each other. The rues, for instance, pre- 
sent us with a striking example, and one that is 
easily put to the proof. All the plants of this 
genus have from eight to ten stamens ; before the 
pollen is shed they may be seen to form a right 
angle with the pistil, arranged two-and-two in the 
concavity of each petal. When the time is ar- 
rived for the dispersion of their pollen, they form 
themselves two-and-two, or three-and-three, to- 
gether, describing a complete quarter of a circle. 
Thus they bring their anthers towards the stigma ; 
and after having deposited their pollen they retire 
to their former distance, and are again enclosed 
within the concavity of the petals. In the white 
dittany, Dictamnus cilbus Linn, we have another 
example to elucidate our present subject. Before 
the flower is come to perfection, the filaments that 
support the anthers bend towards the earth, so as 
almost to touch the base of the petals. As soon as 
the anthers are ready to open, and the pistil is fit to 
receive the pollen, the filaments bend, one after an- 
other, in an arch towards the style : by this sort of 
movement they place themselves immediately be- 
hind the stigma, so that the fecundating powder 
cannot fail to be spread upon that organ. 
These examples will suffice to show how careful 
Nature is in this particular, to secure the preserva- 
tion of the future plant, by fertilizing the tender 
seed at the bottom of the pistil, through the me- 
