THE CULTIVATOR. 
10G 
179. In proportion as the sexes of flowers habitually become few in 
number, do the instances of double flowers become rare. 
180. Double flowers are therefore least to be expected in plants with 
fewest stamens. 
181. Whenever the component parts of a flower adhere'by their edges, 
as in monophyllous calyxes, monopetalous corollas, and monadelphous, or 
di-, or poly-adelphous stamens, the tendency to an unnatural multiplica¬ 
tion of parts seems checked. 
182. Therefore in such cases double flowers are little to be expected; 
they are, in fact, very rare. 
183. Proliferous flowers are those in which parts that usually have all 
their axillary buds dormant, accidentally develope such buds; as in the 
hen and chickens daisy, in which the bractese of the involucrum form 
other daisy-heads in their axilla?; or, as in certain roses, in which the car- 
pellary leaves develope leaf-buds in their axilte; so that the flower be¬ 
comes a branch, the lower leaves of which are colored and transformed, 
and the upper green, and in their ordinary state. 
184. Discoid compound flowers are those in which the central florets 
of a flower-head acquire corollas, like those of the circumference, as in 
the Dahlia; the cultivated variety of which should be called discoid, and 
not double. 
155. These two last are so essentially different from double flowers, 
that whatever laws may be supposed to govern the production or amelio¬ 
ration of double flowers, can have no relation tb proliferous or discoid 
compound flowers. 
VII. SEXES. 
156. The sexes consist of two or more whorls of transformed leaves, of 
which the outer are called stamens, (1S8.) and the inner pistillum. (191 ) 
157. They are known to be modifications of leaves, because they very 
frequently are tranformed into petals which are demonstrably such (149 ); 
and because they occasionally revert to the state of leaves. 
188. The stamens bear at their apex an organ called the anther, which 
contains a powder called pollen. 
189. When the anther is full grown, it opens and emits the pollen, ei¬ 
ther dispersing it in the air in consequence of the elasticity with which 
it opens; or depositing it upon the stigma (191.); or exposing it to the 
action of wind, or such other disturbing causes as may liberate it from 
its case. 
190. The pollen consists of exceedingly minute hollow balls, or cases, 
containing myriads of moving particles, which'are the fertilizing princi¬ 
ple of the stamens. 
191. The pistillum has at its base one or more cavities or cells, in 
which bodies called ovula are placed; and at its apex one or more secret¬ 
ing surfaces'called stigmata. 
192. The ovula are the rudiments of seeds. 
193. If the fertilising powder of the pollen come in contact with the 
stigma, the ovula in (he cells of the pistillum are vivified, and become 
seeds. 
194. But if this contact does not take place the ovula. cannot possibly 
be vivified, but shrivel up and perish. 
195. The phenomenon of vivification takes place in consequence of the 
descent of a portion of the moving particles (190.) of the pollen into the 
ovula, where such particles form the commencement of future plants. 
196. In wild plants a stigma is usually acted upon only by the pollen of 
the stamens which belong to it. 
197. In this case the seeds thus vivified will, when sown, produce new 
individuals, differing very little from that by which' they were themselves 
produced. 
198. And, therefore, wild plants are for the most part multiplied from 
generation to generation without change. 
199. But it is possible to cause deviations, from this law, by artificial 
means. 
200. If the pollen of one species is placed upon the stigma of another 
species, the ovula will be vivified; and what is called a hybrid plant will 
be produced, by those ovula when they shall have grown to be seeds. 
201. Hybrid plants are different from both their parents, and are gene¬ 
rally intermediate in character between them. 
202. They have little power of perpetuating themselves by seeds; but 
they may if woody be perpetuated by cuttings (31li ), buds (354 ) scions 
(335.), &c. 
203. Therefore, no hybrids but such as are of a woody perennial cha¬ 
racter-can be perpetuated. 
204. It usually happens that the hybrid has the constitution and gene¬ 
ral aspect of the polliniferous parent; but is influenced in secondary cha¬ 
racters by the pecuilarity of the female parent. 
205. This should always be borne in mind in procuring new hybrid 
plants. 
206. Really hybrid plants must not be confounded with such as are 
spurious, in consequence of their origin being between two varieties of 
the same species, and not two species of the same genus. 
207. Hybrid plants, although incapable of perpetuation by seed, are of¬ 
ten more abundant flowerers than either parent. 
208. This is, probably, connected with constitutional debility, (162.) 
VIII. FRUIT. 
209. Fruit, strictly speaking, is the pistillum arrived at maturity. 
210. When the calyx adheres to the pistillum and grows with it, to 
maturity, the fruit is called inferior; as the apple. 
211. But when the pistillum alone ripens, there being no adhesion to it 
on the part of the calyx, the fruit is called superior; as the peach. 
212 The fruit is, therefore, in common language, the flower, or some 
part of it, arrived at its most complete state of existence; and, conse¬ 
quently, is itself a portion of a stunted branch, (153 ) 
213. The nature of its connection with the stem is therefore the same 
as that of the branches with each other, or of leaves with their stem. 
214. A superior fruit, consisting only of one, or of a small number of 
metamorphosed leaves, has little or no power of forming a communica¬ 
tion with the earth and of feedingitself, as real branches have, (89.) 
215. It has also very little adhesion to its branch; so that but slight 
causes are sufficient to detach it from the plant, especially at an early 
age, when all its parts are tender. 
216. Hence the difficulty of causing peaches and the like to stone, or 
to pass over that age, in which the vascular bundles that join them to the 
branch become woody, and secure them to their place. 
217. For the same reason they are fed almost entirely by other parts, 
upon secreted matter which they attract' to themselves, elaborate, and 
store up in the cavities of their tissue. 
218. The office of feeding such fruit is performed by young branches 
which transmit nutriment to it through the bark, (69.) 
219. But as young branches can only transmit nutjtiment downwards, 
it follows that unless a fruit is formed on a part of a branch below a leaf- 
bud, it must perish, 
220. Unless there is some active vegetation in the stem above the branch 
on which it grows; when it may possibly live and feed upon secretions 
attracted by it from the main stem. 
221. But inferior fruit, consisting at least of the calyx in addition to the 
pistillum, has a much more powerful communication with the branch; 
each division of its calyx having at least one bundle of vascular and fibrous 
tissue, passing from it into the branch, and acting as a slay upon the cen¬ 
tre to prevent its breaking off. 
222. Such fruit may be supposed much more capable of establishing a 
means of attracting secretions from a distance; and consequently, is less 
liable to perish from want of a supply of food. 
223. It is therefore not so important that an inferior fruit should be fur¬ 
nished with growing branches above it. 
224. Fruit is exclusively fed by the secretions prepared for it by other 
parts; rt is therefore affected by nearly the same circumstances as flow¬ 
ers. 
225 It will be large in proportion to the quantity of food the stem can 
supply to it: and small in proportion to the inability of the stem to nourish 
it. - 
226. For this reason, when trees are weak they should be allowed to 
bear very little, if any, fruit; because a crop of fruit can only tend to in¬ 
crease their debility. 
227. And in all cases each fruit should be so far separated from all 
others as not to be robbed of its food by those in its vicinity. 
228. We find that nature has herself in some treasure provided against 
injury to plants by excessive fecundity, in giving them a power of throw¬ 
ing off flowers, the fruit of which cannot be supported. 
229 The flavor of fruit depends upon the existence of certain secre¬ 
tions, especially of acid and sugar; flavor will, consequently, be regulat¬ 
ed by the circumstances under which fruit is ripened. 
230. The ripening of fruit is the conversion of acid and other substan¬ 
ces into sugar.— (To be Continued.) 
_Young. Men’s Department. _ 
PRIZE ESSAY, 
For which the first Gold Medal was awarded to Miss Laura S. Smith, 
of Geneseo, Livingston county, at the late annual examination in the 
Albany Female Academy: 
THE INFLUENCE of science and literature upon indivi¬ 
duals AND COMMUNITIES. 
Know ledge exerts a powerful influence over the condition of mankind. 
It constitutes the great difference between the savage and civilized, the 
degraded heathen and the honored philosopher. It is not only “ power,” 
but pleasure, wealth, and glory. The bright halo, which surrounds Eu¬ 
ropean nations, and which encircles with almost equal brilliancy the rising 
empire of the west, is an emanation from the knowledge gathered by the 
labor of centuries. The present age is characterized by general improve¬ 
ments in the arts, advancement of society, strength, refinement, and ele¬ 
vation of intellect. The spirit of analysis and investigation, which are 
abroad in the land, have enabled man to pierce far into the depths of sci¬ 
ence, and unfold the mysterious laws which govern the universe. By an 
