Observations upon the Generation of Plants, in a Letter to Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. Pr. Coll.Med. By Patrick Blair, M. D. F. R. S.Author(s): Patrick BlairSource: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 31 (1720 - 1721), pp. 216-221Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/103427 .

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iV Obferltions ?spon t1*e Generation of (Plonts in 4 Letter to Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. G)r. Col! Afed. !23y Patrick Blair, M. 00 F. !0 S.

BoJ?on, D¢¢.3t. I-72X. Honomted Sir,

Y T is no finall Satisfadiont that what I adsranced l in my Boranich 4yw is now fo fuily confirm'd l)y }:£xperilnents lllade by fome curious Gardeners, anzong whom is bir. Pbiltp Miller, who writes me,

7Niovember 1 I, 1 7 2 r . 1. That in Purfuance of my Adsrice he Separated

the Male Plantsof the Spinage from the Fenzale ) the ConSequence was} that the Seeds did (well to the urual Bignefs b but when he fow'd it, it did not grow afeer- wards. tie fearclled itlto the Seed, and f9und it wtant- ed the PunSum Vit) vluich perllaps lnight have been the Cafe with Mr. Geof)rroy j but if nots the fetnale Em- brWones -£night h;Ave been ilupregnated another Way, as he experimented Witll twelsre TuJips, which he Set by thetmilves about fix or Searen Yards from any other, and as foot1 as they blew) lle took out the Stamina fo zzery carefuIty that he Ccattered none of the Du0, and about twO DX i} s atterwardst he faw Bees working on Tulip3, in a E3Xa wherc he did not take Qut tlle nmina, and when *§laey c.Rtne oue, they were le<aded with the DuR on ttul>sr ljodies and Legs: IHe faw thetn Sy tnto the Tu- lip> vere na had taken out tlle Sramin}nc] when they <2.tllA trx 1lt went and fUulld ttley bad left t3e1Zkjd

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( 2t7 ) tllem fufficient to impragnate thefe Flotwe-rs, for fhey bore good ripe Seed ; w-hic11 perfiuades him, that tho Farin-may be carried from Place to Place by Infeds and when thPy happen upon a Flower, wlloWe Urerms is capable to be impreguated by fuch a DufE, it may be thus eSeAed.

I am of C>pinion, this wlil not futt Witil Mr. MGZO Iand s Scheme. For tlloy we may fiuppofe the StaXzngz of every Flower to be oaded with a due Proportton of rl;ze Fartn4, yflet rllis accidental -Conveyance of it toaneighbouring F-lower, may be ratl<er lefs tllan gre:ter than is neceltary: So tllat, if wanting, then thofe Embryones, w llich had not received its de- termined Particie into their BoSotn, muR be defe- 49cive in Bulk, or barren in growing, but here all were equally fill'd.

2. By a Second Letter, Ofiober x9. x7Xv he in forms me, that he bought a Parcel of Savoy Seeds of a Neigllb-our, which he fowedX and pIanted out the Plants; but was furprized to fee the Produdion : For l;le had -half of them red Cabbages, and fome sshite Cabbages, and fome Savoys- with red Ribs, and fom-e neitller one Sort nor otller, but a hlixture of all Sorts togerller in one Plant. He went to tlle Gard tner and told 11inz Ilis Tale, wllo lllew'd IfitnX tllat he was in tlle fame Condition, but did not know laoxv it nlould come to paSs, for he vas fure IAe tools fipecial Care in faving of tile Seed. - l32tug as=<5t-t llovv and svhere 11e planted theln for Seed, 11e fucxv'd llit5n tllem uncler a Snltth-tEeJSZ Hedge} and told hinz the Matlner tn xl?'nicla 1 planted tIw£n . FirR, a Dozen t xvhite Cabba3es, tIzen a Doz>>n of Saw voss, and then a Dozen of Red. Tllen i<e itnmedi a£ewly theu>!) L I;oNY It caLue tQ pafst bt the y°l!f? iD

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( :18 ) tnrpregnating tlle Uterus of one another; and it is very commor} for our Gardiners to plant whit e and recl Cabbages together for Seed, and they are as often dif- appointed by having a Degeneracy of both Kinds, whicll they attribute to the Soil, and think that is the CauSe: They Wend to Holland for a frelh Supply of Seeds, and fay Our Soil will inot continue that Sor jc Good.- He told them his Opinion, and tlley laugh at him for it, and will not be turad out of their Road, aIthougla tilev flou2ld have never fo many Ex- periments {lles'd them.

Tllis Experiment is a moIt convincing Argument for tIae E$>via; for did each Grain of the Farina enter the Pi/yzllum to its proper Urerus, this mongrel Kind w-ould never be produced. For if the individual Piant be ill each Grain of the Male Farina, hovv can it 1)e fo far difmemberdX as that one Part {hall go to the making up of the Ribs of red Cabbage, arld anorller to compofe the reI} of a Savoy Plant. Analagous to this, is wllat I lately obServ'd in a Spaniel Bitch, of fo good a Kind, tlat wllenrlhe became prQU2, Care wras taken tQ let -her 11ave good Dogs. Tlle Litter 111e produced, con- fsRed of Puppies fome Piebald like one of tiie Dogs that Ilad lind ller, of tIze fame Shape, Colour and Spats; orllers like another; and a tllird par- taking of bothX with Spors from tlae Bitch interfipers?d. This is a fatther Confirmation of wtI1at I have adntanc d, ESay 4. where Page 3<Io. I only avSert that WesZeral

Faetus's partake equally of Male arld Female; but here two Males concur ulith one Female irl the Cotlz- pofition of a- fourtll 13ody, £azade up of all tlle rllree: And one SWed produces a Cabbage confiing of tlarecw ditSerent vSpecies wlaich could never liappen, did tlar fe orgarliz'd Sximalczzln) ct Granules of tile Ear/zla, be

4 colne

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( 219 ) come a Fr, or contain tile FoliJ Sessinalia ot a Plant. This methinks is fufficient to an-fws what the ingenios isvIr. Bradley Ilas fo {Irerzuouny contend ed for, Works of Ezzturez, p 9 b fieq. But firlce tilat worthy Gentleman has not tI<ought fit to anfvver what I -have- already advancd upon that Subjed, I may hereafter anfu?er lais ObjedLons more at Jarge.

I could (lefcarze yet more upon this ObSertation, arld confider hoxv fir tlliS Inay lead us into the in&nite ATariegations and Stripes, in not only annual Flowers, fuch as Poppiess ConJ*alirlv Regalis, and Bottles, but alSo in perennial Roors; fuch as AuriculaXs, Coullips, ek of a lower Size, wlliche is 11inted by Mr Brfzdley; 11e having received that Notion from rlae ingenious Mr. ?W Boi;, as I llave been credibly informed, and in Plarlts of a larger Sizes not of a Bulbous, but Carnous Roor, fucil as Columbines, where vllere is a lraR Variety: And in this Plant it iS moIt efipecially to be obServed, that though tlle indigenous one) from which all the other feem only to be Variations, and not determinate Species, be of a blue Colour, con- IiRing of ten Alternate Petala, vzz. five corniculateX and five plain; yee into how many other Kinds of Flowers is it fubd;atided; fuchaspMeyellow, with bluinz redX purple, dark Stripes vEly double, blue, bitckiff} red3 eFc.- Some with Corntculate Petala, arld fome only with plain, and how in fingle Flosvers it imitates all the;Colours we Wee Pfgeons endow'd with. I fay it is worthy of Cotlf1deration, whether the F- rirva may do this, fince I do not underItand there has been much A;rt uSed in making theSe Flowers brealf, as Tulips, or to cultivate a Set of Breeders; but that a richer Soil may produce a double Flower; and a fuitable {^Loam may produce the Variety of Colours; the FnrzssR

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from feveral Flowers may occafion tIle Stripes, and the Stamina arifing from the plain Perala, rather than the Cornicula , pouring out the Farina, may cauSe the Flowers witll the pXain Perala. So that were I to extend tlais toagreat many other Plants, and wer: vllere proper OXfervations made upon them) con- fiderable Improvements xnight be made upon this Dodrine of the Sexes of Plants. For after tbe Flowers} we come next to the Variegation of the Seed of fomQ Plants, particularly the PhnJeoli, whofe various Spots. and Colours,- and even the Bignefs too, may very mucll depend upon tlle Xtia from the Farzna, whea feveral Kinds are fown together. For do but con- fider three plain Colours, a White, Red, and dark Blue, and you may obServe how many Defcendants, and whataVariety of Spotsmay proceedErom tllem Tlle-Lu- pines alfo in fome Meafure may be brought ill here and I know rlot but tllat the Medica CochlearaFtzlvatv Lgnar may be multiplt7'd in its Variations after the famc Manner. Bllt it is Time to proceed to anotller Experi- ment of my Correfipondent Mr lEfiZler.

Being perFuaded to it-by an ingenious Gardiner, he pu]l d of all the Male-Flou ers of forne Melon Plants fo foon as they appeared ; but in-ftead of findingX as Ilis Friend inCornzed htm,; tllat tlleSe Flowers exllauAed the Notiritillment from the FruXit; he fo-und tilAt WitilOLlt tl<eSe Etlowers) none of tlle h4elons s -ould browt, fo

lat 11e was deprived of the Fruit uhicll Iae ex^ peded.

.As rllis ExperXmer;-t is a plain Indicatson Ot t-lle Nea

Ct?fijty of tlle Fari44, to it -confirms the ^ie I IlfaveD

affitand to tlle Leates, sz.that kyenLring the^ pillaries af tile Leavess and rettlrn;ngX t13eHnatrititv¢- Particl"s may be more attenuat-ed : So 1aef tlze Petala

Gf

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of the htale-Ftoulers may Serlre for the fame PurpoSe^^ for by t he LargeneSs Of the Tabuli in thefe PomtJer- Scvnderres, a grofs viScid Sap is received, whtch ever tlle Leaves themSelves are not fuflicient to attenuate fo as to be fit for compofing tlle more fubtile Part of tlle Fruit; until t?y repeated Circulation througll the Perala of the Male-Elowers, it may be renderd fit for fucll a PurpoSe. Indeed, the Female-Elowers mpon tlle Top of the Rudimentutn Erz¢us may i fome lSkeafiure ferve Sor this PurpoFe. But as the Male- Ftowers are, generally fipeaking, more numerous thatl the Female, fo tlletr being removid muR deprive t!ze Embryone of a very great ASlftarlce towards its l)eilg perfedred: I may add, that tlle QriSces of tile Pedicles u7hen the Flouers are pulld oS, muAlofe fo muci of the SLtp, tlla-t the uthole Plant muR be thereby fo impoverillled, as not to be a;ble to bring forth tlle de- fil nwd Fruit; alI this, bef-lde the Want of the confide table Supply of the tvtina FxctflsSanw.

I defign'd to have given- ?r few Thou;hts concerlz eg tlae Variegatioa ot Leaves and Flowersa I}cirzt, 11n

xnZllling to admit of Mr. Bradley's Sicknefs or XVeak- neSs of the Sap: But I nlall refierve that to a lnore corlsrenient Oppor-tullity, being at preSent: ntt:3t UpQN

makinr folme fa-rther Improvements upon tlae &e£}era-

tion atld Nouri^fllment cf Pht3\ts, whicla I hopv ta 1lave uell confirm'd by Experiments nzade Lzy lny good Correspondents tlle Garditl@rs, e@Ccislly this Mr 15Iw1 Per an;d my fe!E. I {liall exped aZour Senrinenis of ti<etp, whicll uZill besagreat E>ouragement tc proe (^Cer ,,, to

Solwr AM ObligeR3

P A. 5 .t A I R3

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