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the defects of one were opposed to the defects of the other, so that if ho 
could blend the two together a more perfect plant would be obtained than 
either, these too might be suited to his purpose ; he might cross them in 
the hope that the defects of one parent would counteract the defects of 
the other, and enable him to unite their two good properties in one indi¬ 
vidual, without the plant being otherwise objectionable. 
To understand the mode of cross-breeding plants, and the precautions 
required to be observed by the experimenter, the parts concerned in the 
operation should be readily distinguished, and their functions understood. 
Take flowers of the currant—one of the earliest plants in blossom, and 
found in almost every garden—with a penknife slit carefully down one 
side of a full blown flower, so as to spread it out for examination ; there 
will be found an outer covering, or envelope, the calyx, divided at the 
edge into five small parts ; next are five small leaflets, the petals, situated 
alternately with the segments of the calyx ; then we have five small 
bodies alternating with the petals, and situated, like them, on the throat 
of the calyx; these are the stamens, or male organs, which produce the 
yellow fertilizing dust called pollen ; in the centre of the flower is the 
pistil, a small, greenish, thread like point, more or less two-cleft at the 
summit, and which is situated directly on the miniature berry containing 
the embryo seeds, and not on the calyx, as the stamens. Having well 
examined these flowers, there will be no difficulty in distinguishing simi¬ 
lar parts in the flowers of the other plants. In the blossom of the pear 
there is the green calyx outside, divided at the edge into five small seg¬ 
ments; and then there are five large distinct petals, constituting the corolla; 
next numerous stamens, each tipped with a little head or anther, pro¬ 
ducing the yellow pollen grains; and lastly, two to five pistils in the cen¬ 
tre. Now all that requires to be done to cross between two plants is 
this: the flowers to produce seed must be carefully opened before they 
naturally expand—before any pollen is visible, and the stamens must be 
removed with a pair of small pointed scissors, taking great care to leave 
the pistil in the centre of the flower uninjured ; then when these flowers 
have expanded, perfect flowers of the variety intended for the male pa¬ 
rent must be collected, and the pollen from them gently applied to the 
summit of the pistil, with a camel’s hair pencil. The best time to apply 
the pollen is in the middle of a dry sunny day, and for fear of failure it 
.should be applied three or four days in succession. Besides removing 
