MAY. 
105 
Fig. 2,—Flower of Ber¬ 
berry magnified. 
Fig. 3.—Sepal of Ber¬ 
berry magnified. 
the fecundating pollen. There is no neck separating this crest from the body- 
on which it is seated, and hitherto none of the flowers w r e have already studied 
have been wanting in this part: thus, in the Herb Robert, there are five necks 
of a remarkable length ; in the Buttercup there are a score, the length of 
which is very little ; in the Wallflower it is very short, but still visible; and 
in the Melon it is more distinct. 
Let us return to the stamens {Jig. 5). The anthers are united to the 
filaments by the whole length of their back. They diffuse their pollen by the 
aid of a very curious mechanism. This is not by a slit opening on each side 
of the anther, as we have observed in the flowers -we have already studied. 
When the instant of fecundation has arrived, each of the two cells of the 
anther are ruptured first by the slit on the exterior side, as in the other plants, 
and, moreover, by that which runs along the length of the filament. These 
two slits unite at the base, and then it rises on the side next the central organ, 
like a small round lid, and attached at the 
top of the anther by a hinge. This lid 
carries with it the pollen, and leaves remain¬ 
ing the back of the cell attached to the 
filament; each anther, being composed of 
two cells, has two similar lids. 
This appearance can be observed on the 
Berberry in fine weather, and during the 
warmest hours of the day ; but you can 
yourself see the same effect by operating 
artificially on the anther by the aid of a 
needle. Besides the opening of their an¬ 
thers, the stamens of the Berberry exhibit to the observer a more interesting 
phenomenon still, and this consists in the manifest sensibility of the filaments 
on which these anthers are placed. They are all bent back to each petal, the 
concave tips of which shelter the anthers {fig. 1, a). No agitation whatever of 
the branch will have any effect on them ; but if the inside of the filaments be 
merely touched with a small bit of stick, a pin, or a needle, they instantly 
spring from the petals, and shake the pollen against the stigma. This irri¬ 
tability does not exist on the outside of the filaments, nor in the anthers ; and 
if the stamen is bent towards the stigma by the anthers only, no such action 
is exhibited. From this it is evident that the sudden spring of the stamens is 
owing to a high degree of irritability in the side of the filament next the 
ovary, by which, when touched, it contracts; that 
side becomes shorter than the other, and conse¬ 
quently the filament is bent towards the ovary. 
This irritability is perceptible in the filaments of 
flowers of all ages. If the ovary is cut off, the 
filaments will still contract, and, nothing being in 
their way, will bend quite over to the opposite side 
of the flower. After irritation the stamens will 
return to their original place, and, on being touched 
again, they will contract with the same facility as 
at first. What a beautiful example is this of the 
providence of the All-Wise God! These anthers, 
bent back and sheltered from rain in the concavity of the petals, would probably 
never reach the stigma, and thereby propagate the species, were it not for this 
wmnderful irritability; there they remain, till some insect, coming to extract 
honey from the base of the flower, thrusts itself between the filaments, and, 
almost unavoidably, touches them in their most irritable part; the anthers 
r 2 
Fig. 4.—Petal of Fig. 5.—Stamen 
Berberry mag- of Berberry 
nified. magnified. 
