. Insect transformations . arious fungi are, when mature, filledwith a blackish dust, supposed to be the seed. Mi-cheli, of Florence, an eminent botanist, resolved to VOL. VI. 3* 30 INSECT TRANSFORMATIONS. try Avhether this supposed seed would grow if sown onvegetable substances, and found that it did so. Onhis experiments being repeated at Bologna, however,it was discovered that the mould grew equally wellwhere none of the black powder bad been sown; butSpallanzani, by more accurate attention, confirmed theconclusion of Micheli. He collected a great quantity of the dust, and, taking a number
. Insect transformations . arious fungi are, when mature, filledwith a blackish dust, supposed to be the seed. Mi-cheli, of Florence, an eminent botanist, resolved to VOL. VI. 3* 30 INSECT TRANSFORMATIONS. try Avhether this supposed seed would grow if sown onvegetable substances, and found that it did so. Onhis experiments being repeated at Bologna, however,it was discovered that the mould grew equally wellwhere none of the black powder bad been sown; butSpallanzani, by more accurate attention, confirmed theconclusion of Micheli. He collected a great quantity of the dust, and, taking a number of pieces ofmoistened bread, apples, pears, gourds, Stc, sowedsome thickly, others sparingly, and others not at result was, that on the unsown substances themould did appear, but several days later, and thengreatly less in quantity, than on the sown substances;while of these two, the pieces thickly sown had morethan double the quantity of the pieces thinly sown,though, when it came up thick, it did not grow Microscopic views of apple and pear mould. A A, Tart of a shrivelledapple, covered with mould on the inside, a a a a, several of the indivi-dual mould plants highlj magnified. /», a branclied one. c rl, seed-ves-sels, one bursting and scittering its seed, c, one mushroom-shaped. /, aportion of pear mould, of a branched form. We were much struck last autumn (1829), uponcutting an apple asunder, to find in the seed-cells a DISPEUSION OP SEEDS. 31 copious growth of the mould with the slender stemgand globular heads tiguied by Spallatizani. Mouldupon an apple is not indeed wonderiid; but the onein (piostion was not only large, but apparently soundthroughout. Whence, then, came the seeds of thismould in the very core of the apple? We have alsomet with mould of a ditlbrent species, reseml)liug thegreen mould on the riud of oranges {Acrosporiian fas-ciculdlinn, ), even on the keruels of nuts,when there was no o|)ening save the minute pores inthe shell. Th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidinsecttransforma00inr, booksubjectinsects
