Part 4259

<i>Sir P. Sidney.</i>

<h1>Fertilitate</h1> <Xpage=554>

<hw>Fer*til"i*tate</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <def>To fertilize; to fecundate.</def>

<i>Sir T. Browne.</i>

<h1>Fertility</h1> <Xpage=554>

<hw>Fer*til"i*ty</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[L. <ets>fertilitas</ets>: cf. F. <ets>fertilit\'82</ets>.]</ety> <def>The state or quality of being fertile or fruitful; fruitfulness; productiveness; fecundity; richness; abundance of resources; fertile invention; quickness; readiness; <as>as, the <ex>fertility</ex> of soil, or of imagination</as>.</def> "<i>fertility</i> of resource."

<i>E. Everett.</i>

<blockquote>And all her husbandry doth lie on heaps Corrupting in its own <b>fertility</b>. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>Thy very weeds are beautiful; thy waste More rich than other climes' <b>fertility</b>. <i>Byron.</i></blockquote>

<h1>Fertilization</h1> <Xpage=554>

<hw>Fer`ti*li*za"tion</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <p><b>1.</b> <def>The act or process of rendering fertile.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <fld>(Biol.)</fld> <def>The act of fecundating or impregnating animal or vegetable germs; esp., the process by which in flowers the pollen renders the ovule fertile, or an analogous process in flowerless plants; fecundation; impregnation.</def>

<cs><col>Close fertilization</col> <fld>(Bot.)</fld>, <cd>the fertilization of pistils by pollen derived from the stamens of the same blossom.</cd> -- <col>Cross fertilization</col>, <cd>fertilization by pollen from some other blossom. See under <er>Cross</er>, <tt>a.</tt></cd></cs>

<h1>Fertilize</h1> <Xpage=554>

<hw>Fer"ti*lize</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <wordforms>[<tt>imp. & p. p.</tt> <er>Fertilized</er> <tt>(?)</tt>; <tt>p. pr. & vb. n.</tt> <er>Fertilizing</er> <tt>(?)</tt>.]</wordforms> <ety>[Cf. F. <ets>fertiliser</ets>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>To make fertile or enrich; to supply with nourishment for plants; to make fruitful or productive; <as>as, to <ex>fertilize</ex> land, soil, ground, and meadows</as>.</def>

<blockquote>And <b>fertilize</b> the field that each pretends to gain. <i>Byron.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>To fecundate; <as>as, to <ex>fertilize</ex> flower</as>.</def>

<i>A. R. Wallace.</i>

<h1>Fertilizer</h1> <Xpage=554>

<hw>Fer"ti*lizer</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <p><b>1.</b> <def>One who fertilizes; the agent that carries the fertilizing principle, as a moth to an orchid.</def>

<i>A. R. Wallace.</i>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>That which renders fertile; a general name for commercial manures, as guano, phosphate of lime, etc.</def>

<h1>Ferula</h1> <Xpage=554>

<hw>Fer"u*la</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[L. <ets>ferula</ets> giant fennel (its stalks were used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, fr. <ets>ferire</ets> to strike; akin to OHG. <ets>berjan</ets>, Icel. <ets>berja</ets>. Cf. <er>Ferule</er>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>A ferule.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<i>Beau. & Fl.</i>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>The imperial scepter in the Byzantine or Eastern Empire.</def>

<h1>Ferulaceous</h1> <Xpage=554>

<hw>Fer`u*la"ceous</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <ety>[L. <ets>ferulaceus</ets>, fr. <ets>ferula</ets> rod: cf. F. <ets>f\'82rulac\'82</ets>.]</ety> <def>Pertaining to reeds and canes; having a stalk like a reed; <as>as, <ex>ferulaceous</ex> plants</as>.</def>