generacy may be arrested, when an individual answering our wishes has been obtained; as this individual, by the art of the planter and grafter, may be divided and multiplied to almost any extent. My experience induces me to believe, that the effects of crossing, tend strongly to stimulate the growth of the offspring, both of plants and animals; but that, amongst animals, crosses should be made only between breeds bearing a good deal of resemblance to each other, or between different families of the same breed.
From the open structure of the blossoms of vegetables, and from the numerous tribes of insect which feed on their honey, or farina, a sexual intercourse must, of necessity, take place between neighbouring plants of the same species; and I am much more disposed to attribute this intercourse to the intention, than to the negligence of nature.
My wishes were, of course, to correct the defects, and to combine the excellencies of the best fruits; and I was put without hopes, that the offspring would possess a greater degree of strength and vigour, as it is known to do in cultivated animals. A few days, therefore, before the blossoms expanded, of the kinds from which I wished to propagate, I opened the petals, and destroyed the males in all the blossoms, which I
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