fertilization

[Eng. fertiliz ( e ); -ation.] I. Ordinary Language : 1. The act or proce of making fertile, fruitful, or productive. 2. The act of fecundating or impregnating; fecundation. II. Bot .: The fecundation of a plant by the appli. cation of the pollen to the stigma. In some cases the pollen simply drops upon the stigma, which is called self-fertilization. In most instances, however, it is blown by the wind, or carried by bees, or moths, or such-like insects, from other flowers of the same species. This is what is termed cro -fertil. ization. Mr. Darwin found that twenty heads of Dutch Clover ( Trifolium repens) left open to the visits of bees produced 2,290 90 seeds; the same number defended from the visit of bees did not yield even one seed. "In many trees in which the organs of reproduction are in separate flowers (as hazel and willow) the leaves are not produced until fertilization has been effected." Balfour : Botany , § 496. fer-til-ize, v. t. [Fr. fertiliser; Sp. fertilizar; Ital. fertilizzare, from Lat. fertilis fertile.] 1. To make fertile, fruitful, or productive; to supply with the proper nourishment for plants; to make rich. IMG:content-1569.png:[blocks in formation] 2. To impregnate; to fecundate. fer-til-iz-ēr, s . [Eng. fertiliz(e); -er .] One who, or that which fertilizes; spec if., a manure applied to land. "When more is taken from the land than is given back, the purchase of extraneous fertilizers is the only resource."-Loudon: Encyl. of Agriculture .