CASTRATION, among botanists, a term derived from the fancied analogy betwixt plants and animals. The castration of plants consists in cutting off the antheræ, or tops of the stamens, before they have attained maturity, and dispersed the pollen or fine dust contained within their substance. This operation has been frequently practised by the moderns, with a view to establish or confuse the doctrine of the sexes of plants; the
antheræ or tops being considered by the sexualists as the male organs of generation. The experiment of castration succeeds principally on plants which, like the melon, have their male flowers detached from the female. In such as have both male and female flowers contained within the same covers, this operation cannot be easily performed without endangering the neighbouring organs. The result of experiments on this subject by Linnaeus, Allston, and other eminent botanists, may be seen under the article BOTANY.