a eel gh fits. os 1h go THE KDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. fe ee a eet caries es A Ab en Lm THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, EXHIBITING A VIEW OF THE PROGRESSIVE DISCOVERIES ANT a P od a ee IN THE fF oR Sd By : = t es * SCIENCES AND THE ARTS. EDITORS. THOMAS ANDERSON, M.D., F.RS.E.. REGIUS PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW; siz WILLIAM JARDINE, Bart., F.R.SS.L. ann E. ; JOHN HUTTON BAGH OURS A.M. Mi. D.. F.R.S., Sec. R.S. EDIN., F.L.S., REGIUS KEEPER OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND BOTANY, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. FOR AMERICA, HENRY D. ROGERS, LIL.D., Hon. F.B.S.E, F.GS. STATE GEOLOGIST, PENNSYLVANIA; PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW. BAIN) AEWA ees: APRIL 1864. VOL. XIX. NEW SERIES. EDINBURGH: ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK. LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, & LONGMANS, LONDON. MDCCCLXIV. PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH. CONTENTS. . On some Anomalies in Zoological and Botanical Geo- graphy. By Averep R. Watuacz, . On the Slaking of Quicklime. By Joun Davy, M.D., F R.S. Lond. and Edin., ; . Some Observations on the Blood, chiefly in relation to the question, Is Ammonia in its volatile state one of its Normal Constituents? By Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S. Lond. and Edin., &c., j . On the Relative Effects of Acid and Alkaline Solutions on Muscular Action through the Nerve. By H. F. Baxter, Hsq., Cambridge, . . On the Antiquity of Man; a Review of ‘ Lyell” and “ Wilson.” By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.BS., F.G.S., Principal of M‘Gill College and University, Montreal. Communicated by the Author, . , . The Observed Motions of the Companion of Sirius considered with Reference to the Disturbing Body indicated by Theory. By T. H. Sarrorp, Assistant at the Observatory of Harvard College. Communi- cated by the Author, . Notes on the Fertilisation of Orchids. By Wititam RutHERFORD, M.D., President of the Royal Medical Society, Resident Physician Royal Infirmary. (Being a portion of a thesis, for which a gold medal was awarded by the Medical Faculty of the University of Edinburgh at the Graduation in 1863), ¥ PAGE ecko 20 29 40 64 69 i} CONTENTS. PAGE 8. Remains of Birds’ Eggs found at Fisherton, near Salis- bury. By H. P. Bracxmore, M.D., Salisbury. Communicated by Sir WiLt1AM JaRpIne, Bart., enya: 9. I. On Parallel Relations of the Classes of Vertebrates, and on some Characteristics of the Reptilian Birds. II. The Classification of Animals based on the Principle of Cephalization. No. I. By James D. Dana, Communicated by the Author, é : eee LD) 10. Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. By Georce Lawson, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Chemistry in Dalhousie College, Halifax, Nova Scotia, . 102 REVIEWS :— 1. (1.) Victoria Toto Ceelo; or, Modern Astronomy Re- cast. By James Reppiz, F.A.S.L., Hon, Mem. Dial. Soc. Edin. Univ. London, 1863. Hardwicke. (2.) Quadrature du Cercle. Par un Membre de l’Asso- ciation Britannique pour l’avancement de la Science (James SmitH). Bordeaux, 1863, . : ALS 2. Sketch of Elementary Dynamics. By W. THomson and P.G. Tait. Edinburgh: Maclachlan and Stewart, 118 3. Climate: An Inquiry into the Causes of its Differences, and into its Influence on Vegetable Life. By C. Dauseny, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Professor of Botany and of Rural Economy in the University of Oxford, 122 4. Manual of the Metalloids. By James Arsoun, M.D., F.R.S., M.R.1.A., Professor of Chemistry in the University of Dublin, London: Longman & Co. 1864. 12mo. Pp. 596, : ee oak CONTENTS, ill PAGE 5. On the Popular Names of British Plants ; being an Ex- planation of the Origin and Meaning of the Names of our Indigenous and most commonly cultivated Species. By R. C. ALExanpeR Prior, M.D., F.LS., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London. 8vo. London: Williams and Norgate, 1863, . 134 6. The Pines and Firs of Japan; illustrated by upwards of 200 woodcuts. By Anprew Morray, F.L.S., Assistant Secretary to the Royal Horticultural So- ciety. 8vo. Pp. 124. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1863, : : : : . 135 7. Flora Australiensis: a Description of the Plants of the Australian Territory. By Grorcre Bentuam, F.R.S., F.L.S., assisted by Ferpinanp Muvetier, M.D., F.R.S. and L.S., Government Botanist, Melbourne, Victoria. Vol. I., Ranunculacee to Anacardiacez. Published under the authority of the several Govern-. ments of the Australian Colonies. 8vo. Pp. 508. London: Lovell Reeve and Co., 1868, . 136 8. Air-Breathers of the Coal Period: a Descriptive Ac- count of the Remains of Land Animals found in the Coal Formation of Nova Scotia, with Remarks on their bearing on Theories of the Formation of Coal and of the Origin of Species. By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., Principal of M‘Gill University. 8vo. Pp. 81. Montreal: Dawson Brothers, 1863, 137 9. The First Principles of Natural Philosophy. By W. T. Lynn. London: Van Voorst, 1863, ; ~ 141 10. The Philosophy of Geology: a brief Review of the Aim, Scope, and Character of Geological Inquiry. By Paya Pace, ER.S.E., F.G.8: 12me.-, Pp, dod, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and Lon- don, 1863, et . 142 1V CONTENTS. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES :— PAGE Botanical Society of Edinburgh, . ; : . 149 SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE :-— BOTANY. 1. The Progress of Tea Cultivation in Northern India. 2. Tinder used in the Punjaub. 3. Sissoo Tree (Dal- bergia Sissoo), 4, Botanic Garden, Calcutta, 159-163 MISCELLANEOUS, 5. Letter from Mr Rozsert Brown, Botanist to the British Columbia Association of Edinburgh, dated Victoria, Vancouver's Island, July 24,1863. 6. Call to parti- cipate in presenting a Testimonial to the distinguished Botanist, Dr Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius of Munich. 7. Geographical Discovery in New Zea- land, : : j : : 163-168 OBITUARIES. 8. The late Rev. Stephen Hislop of Nagpore. 9. Mr P. A. Munch, the Historian of Norway, ee pebe Sel 10 PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED, . : : eal CONTENTS. PAGE . Notes on the Mummied Bodies of the Ibis and other Birds, found in Egypt. By A. Lerry Apams, A.M., &c., Surgeon 22d Regiment, eis . On the Circulation of the Atmospheres of the Earth and the Sun. By JoszrH Jonn Murpny, Esq. (Plate I.), 183 . Remarks on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams, with a Notice of a Hybrid Selaginella. By Joun Scott, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, . 192 . On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. By © M. J. Personne. ‘Translated by GEorce Lawson, LL.D., Professor of Chemistry in Dalhousie College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Plate II.), 200 . Remarks on the Sexual Changes in the Inflorescence of Zea Mays. By Mr Joun Scorr, . . 213 . New Researches on Hybridity in Plants. By M. Cu. Naupin. ‘Translated from the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, by GrEorce May Lowe, Esq.,_ . 220) CONTENTS. 7. On Diplostemonous Flowers, with some Remarks upon the Position of the Carpels in the Malvacee. By ALEXANDER Dickson, M.D., Edin. (Plate III.), 8. The Classification of Animals based on the Principle of Cephalization. No. I. By James D. Dana. Communicated by the Author. (Concluded from the January Number), 9. Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants: By GeorcE Lawson, Ph.D.,LL.D., Professor of Chemistry and Natural History in Dalhousie College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Concluded from the January Num- ber), REVIEWS :— 1. Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society, New Series, No. I. William Blackwood and Sons, Edin- burgh and London. January 1864, 2. Flora of Ulster and Botanist’s Guide to the North of Ireland. By G. Dicxiz, A.M., M.D., F.L.S., Pro- fessor of Botany, Aberdeen. Aitchison, Belfast, 1864. 24mo, pp. 176, 3. A Hand-Book of Descriptive and Practical Astronomy. By Georce F. Cuampers,F.R.G.S. Murray, London, 1861. 12mo, pp. 514, | PAGE . 239 . 260 . 273 ot . 296 . 297 CONTENTS. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES :— Royal Society of Edinburgh, Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, Botanical Society of Edinburgh, PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED, il . 336 THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. On some Anomalies in Zoological and Botanical Geography. By ALFRED R. WALLACE. THE subject of Geographical Distribution is now gene- rally allowed to be one of the most interesting branches of Natural History, and owing to the accumulation of much trustworthy material within the last few years, we are at length enabled to generalise many of the most important facts, and to form a tolerably accurate idea of the import and bearing of the whole inquiry. In the admirable chapters on this topic in the “ Origin of Species,” Mr Darwin has given us a theory as simple as it is comprehensive, and has besides gone into many of the details so fully as to render it needless to say another word here on those parts of the question which he has treated. As an explanation of the main facts, and of many of the special difficulties, of geographical distribution, those chapters are in every respect satisfactory ; and I therefore propose now - to consider only the anomalies and discrepancies which so frequently occur between the distribution of one class or order and another, and to discuss the possibility of arriving at a division of the earth into Regions, which shall repre- sent accurately the main facts of distribution In every de- partment of nature. In doing this I shall consider in detail a few cases of special difficulty only, and endeavour to establish certain NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. I.—JANUARY 1864. A ») Mr Alfred R. Wallace on some Anomalies principles, which, if accepted, will enable us to deal with such cases for the future, and avoid the confusion into which the whole question must necessarily fall, if (as has hitherto been the case) every naturalist proposes a distinct set of geographical regions for the group to which he pays most attention. The entire subject naturally comes under the two heads of terrestrial and marine distribution, which may be treated of independently, but upon similar principles. I now con- fine myself entirely to the terrestrial division. The chief fault of the Zoological and Botanical regions that have been hitherto proposed is, that they have generally been too numerous, and have been more or less artificially bounded by lines of latitude and longitude. Those established by Meyen for plants, and by Woodward for shells, have this fault, and were, besides, never intended to apply to the whole organic world. Swainson’s division (Geog. and Class. of Animals in Lardner’s Cab. Cyc.), was much more natural, and was, I believe, the first that took into consideration all classes of animals, and can lay any claim to rank asa general system. But by carrying out even here his favourite quinary theory, and by following too closely the supposed typical races of man, he was led into many important errors,—such as including the northern and southern continents of America in one region, and placing Northern Asia with India rather than with Europe. In June 1857, a paper was read before the Linnean So- ciety by Dr Sclater, entitled, ‘“ On the general Geographical Distribution of the Members of the Class Aves,” which marks an era in this branch of natural history. The subject was now for the first time treated in a philosophical manner by a naturalist well acquainted with the whole class with which he proposed to deal, and who, by looking chiefly to groups, —to genera and families rather than to species—and by taking account of broad contrasts rather than local pecu- liarities, has succeeded in marking out upon the globe those divisions, which not only represent accurately the great facts presented by the distribution of birds, but seem also well adapted to become the foundation for a een system of Ontological regions. in Zoological and Botanical Geography. 3 The following six Regions are those established by Dr Sclater :— Ist, The Neotropical, comprising South America, Mexico, and the West Indies; 2d, The Nearctic, including the rest of America; 3d, The Palearctic, composed of Europe, Northern Asia to Japan, and Africa north of the Desert ; 4th, The Kthiopian, which contains the rest of Africa and Madagascar; dth, The Indian, containing Southern Asia and the western half of the Malay Archipelago; and 6th, The Australian, which comprises the eastern half of the Malay Islands, Australia, and most of the Pacific Islands. Each of these regions is characterised by a number of pecu- har genera, and even families of birds, which, while found everywhere within the region, do not pass over its bounda- ries ; and by other genera which, though found sparingly in several regions, have their metropolis in one. This scheme of Ornithological distribution has been founded on such an extensive basis of facts, and after having been five years before the world has met with such general accept- ance, that it may fairly be taken as established, subject only to modifications of the dividing lines between those regions which gradually merge into each other. It remains to be shown whether this is not only a true Ornithological, but also a true Zoological and Botanical divi- sion of the earth ; and if not, to show how it is that what is true for one part of nature should not be equally true for all. In a paper on the ‘‘ Geographical Distribution of Rep- tiles” (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 373), Dr Gunther has shown that for snakes and batrachians the same divisions will almost exactly apply; the only important discrepancy being that Japan, judging from its snakes, would belong to the Indian region, while its batrachians are decidedly related to those of the Palearctic region. In Mammalia the same geographical divisions are very strongly marked, but here again one important discrepancy has been pointed out, namely, that the quadrupeds of North Africa are of Ethiopian, while the birds and reptiles are of European forms. (/bzs, vol. i. pp. 98, 107. In the immense class of Insects, very little has been done 4 Mr Alfred R. Wallace on some Anomalies to work out the details of Geographical distribution. There is no doubt but that the six regions marked out by Dr Sclater are generally characterised by distinct forms of in- sects. There is one case, however, which has come under my own observation, in which the entomological would not correspond with the ornithological regions. The Moluccas and New Guinea in their birds and mammals are most de- cidedly Australian, while the insects show a general corre- spondence with the Indian type. It has also been pointed out that the insects of Chili and of south temperate South America have little affinity with Neotropical forms. Land shells, I am informed by the Rev. H. B. Tristram, generally agree very well with the ornithological regions. The subdivisions or provinces are, however, often very strongly marked. In Plants, I am informed by Dr Hooker, the regions will in many cases not at all correspond. In order to arrive at the cause and meaning of these singular differences in the Geographical distribution of the various classes, we must inquire how Zoological and Bota- nical regions are formed, or why organic existences come to be grouped geographically at all. It appears to me that this can be explained by a few simple principles— | 1st, The tendency of all species to diffuse themselves over a wide area, some one or more in each group being actually found to have so spread, and to have become, as Mr Darwin terms them, dominant species. 2d, The existence of barriers checking, or absolutely forbidding that diffusion. 3d, The progressive change or replacement of species, by allied forms, which has been continually going on in the organic world. 4th, A corresponding change in the surface, which has led to the destruction of old and the formation of new barriers. oth, Changes of climate and physical conditions, which will often favour the diffusion and increase of one group, and lead to the extinction or decrease of another. By means of these principles we will endeavour to ex- in Zoological and Botanical Geography. 4) plain the discrepancies already mentioned. And, first, how is it that the snakes in Japan are Indian and the batrachians Palearctic ? Dr Gunther informs us, in the paper already alluded to, that snakes are a pre-eminently tropical group, decreasing rapidly in the temperate regions, and absolutely ceasing at 62° N. Lat. Bactrachians, on the other hand, are almost as fully developed in northern as in tropical regions. They can support intense cold, and are, moreover, more dif- fusible, geographically, than snakes. These factsfurnish a clue to the peculiarities of the Japanese reptile fauna. For let us suppose that Japan once formed a part of northern Asia (with which it is even now almost connected by two chains of islands), it would then have received its birds, mammals, and batrachians from the Paleearctic region ; but there could have been few or no snakes, owing to the much lower curve of the isothermal lines in Eastern Asia than Western Europe, giving to Mandtchouria a climate as rigorous as that of Sweden. Now, at a subsequent period, Japan must have been connected with Southern Asia through the line of the Loo-choo and Madjicosima islands, and would then acquire its population of Indian forms of snakes, which would easily establish themselves in an unoccupied region,—whereas the batrachians, as well as the birds and mammals of Southern Asia, would find a firmly established Palearctic population ready to resist the invasion of intruders, and it is therefore not to be wondered at that but few, if any, Indian forms of these groups should have been able to maintain themselves. Again, the insects of Japan are decidedly Palearctic in character, except in the case of a few tropical forms of diurnal lepidoptera, which would have been able to establish themselves, like the snakes, on account of the extreme poverty of that group in high latitudes. It would thus appear that the tropical character of the snakes is quite ex- ceptional, depending upon the fact of the whole group being pre-eminently tropical, and can therefore not be held to throw any doubt on the position of Japan in the Palearctic zoological region. We have next to consider the supposed discrepancy in the mammals of Algeria compared with the birds, reptiles, insects, and plants—all of which are decidedly of Palearctic 6 Mr Alfred R. Wallace on some Anomalies forms. It will, I think, be found that the facts have here been somewhat hastily assumed, and that the mammalia do not differ very much in this respect from other classes, and in no degree invalidate the position that North Africa belongs to the Palearctic region. Leaving out domesticated animals, I have drawn up a list of the genera of Algerian mammals (from Captain Loche’s Catalogue), and have divided the species, so as to show how far they correspond with those of the Palearctic or other regions, From an examination of this table, it will be seen that thirty-three of the Algerian mammals are absolutely identi- cal with European or West Asian species, fourteen more are representative species of Huropean genera, and ten be- long to West Asian and Siberian (and therefore Palearctic) genera, giving a total of fifty-seven species and about twenty- eight genera, as the measure of Palearctic affinity. Now, to balance this, what have we to indicate an Ethiopian fauna ? The most important, and what have probably been most relied on as giving an extra-Huropean character to the coun- try, are the four large felines,—the lion, the leopard, the serval, and the hunting-leopard,—but as these all range the whole of Africa, from the Cape to the Mediterranean, and may very probably have crossed the desert in the tracts of caravans, they cannot be held to have much weight on the present question. Then there is the solitary monkey ; but as that actually inhabits Europe, we need hardly have included it among the representatives of Ethiopian groups, except to give all the facts that can be fairly claimed on that side. The antelope is a desert-haunting species, and therefore may be looked upon as a straggler on the northern side of the Sahara; and, besides these, we have represen- tatives of two really African genera (Macroscelides and Zorilla), giving a total of only eight species as the mea- sure of Kthiopian affinity. The remaining species, seven in number, are true desert-haunters, roaming over North Africa, Egypt, and Arabia, into the Indian deserts, and have scarcely any more right to be considered as belonging to one region than another, since they inhabit the district which forms the boundary and debateable land of the Ethiopian, Indian, and Palearctic regions. | TInsectivora. Carnivora. Ruminantia. Rodentia. in Zoological and Botanical Geography. Genera of Algerian Mammals. Macacus innuus . ( Ursus | Canis Fenecus Hyena Meles < Mangusta . | Genetta Felis Putorius Zorilla | Lutra Sus: ( Cervus Dama . Antelope Gazella enn : ; Vespertilionide . ( Sorex | Pachyura . Crocidura . 4 Crossopus . Macroscelides ae : ( Hystrix Myoxus Dipus : Alactaga (Siberian Genus) ; Lepus ; Gerbillus (N. andl W. Neat Genus) . Ctenodactylus (Asiatic Group Sciurus | Mus. ; Palearctic Species a Species of Paleearctic PA pH NS) P16 Genera. Ethiopian Lie) eo) 2 (8\) Sus 8 a2e|2o2% =| 8 2g Sy ces) SD neo) Be M op) 1 l 1 4. i 1 1 ne 2 i 1 8 6 8 Mr Alfred R. Wallace on some Anomalies It would seem, therefore, that the supposed discrepancy of the Mammalia, in determining the southern limit of the Palearctic province, is altogether imaginary. The number of species absolutely identical is not so great as in the birds ; but Europe is not the whole Paleearctic province, and if we take genera instead of species, we shall find the correspond- ence as complete as possible,—twenty-eight genera being truly Palearctic, only three Ethiopian, while five are Asia- tic, or desert-dwellers. In this case, therefore, the whole of the vertebrata combine with the insects, the land shells, and the plants, to place North Africa in the Paleearctic region. The case of the insects in the Australian portion of the Malay Archipelago is one of much greater difficulty. Austra~ liaitself contains a remarkable assemblage of insects, among which its Lamellicornes, Buprestide, and Curculionide offer a number of striking forms and genera quite peculiar to it. In New Guinea and the Moluccas, on the other hand, Lamel- licornes are comparatively scarce, and with the Buprestide and Curculionide are of Indian rather than Australian genera; while the great family of the Anthribidee, which is almost entirely absent in Australia, is here everywhere abundant in genera, species and individuals, though less so than in the Western or Indian region. To account for this remarkable discrepancy, we must consider,—I1s¢, That insects are much more immediately dependent on the character of the vegetation, and therefore on climate, than are vertebrated animals; and, 2dly, That water-barriers are much less effective in preventing their dispersion. A narrow strait is an effectual bar to the mi- gration of mammals and of many reptiles and birds, while insects may be transported in the egg and larva state by floating timber, and from their small size and great powers of flight, may be easily carried by the winds from one island to another. Now, the characteristic insects of Australia seem specially adapted to a dry climate and a shrubby flower-bearing vegetation, and could hardly exist in the excessively moist atmosphere and amid the dense flowerless forests of the equatorial islands. If, therefore, we suppose Australia itself to be the most ancient portion of this in Zoological and Botanical Geography. 9 region (which its great richness in peculiar generic forms seems to indicate), we can easily understand how, when the islands of the Moluccas and New Guinea first rose above the waters and became clothed with dense forests nurtured by tropical heat and perpetual moisture, though the birds and mammals readily adapted themselves to the new con- ditions, the insects could not do so, but gave way before the immigrants from the islands to the west of them, which having been developed under similar chmatal conditions, and thus become specially adapted to them, were enabled, by the enormous powers of multiplication and dispersion possessed by insects, at once to establish themselves in the newly-formed lands, and develop an insect population in many respects at variance with other classes of animals. There are, however, several instances of groups of insects almost as strictly confined to one-half of the Archipelago as is so remarkably the case with the vertebrata ; and when the extensive collections made by myself in most of the islands come to be accurately worked out, no doubt more such-instances will be found. Among Coleoptera I may mention the Tmesisternine, a remarkable sub-family of Longicornes, as being strictly confined to the Australian region, over the whole of which it extends, and has its western limit in Celebes along with the Marsupials and the Trichoglossi. Again, Mr Baly, so well known for his acquaintance with the Phytophagous Coleoptera, finds that one of the principal sub-families of that tribe (Adoxine), which he has recently classified, though spread over Europe and the whole of Asia, is only found in the Archipelago in those islands which belong to the Indian region of zoology. This proves that there is an ancient insect-population in the Austro-Malayan Islands, which accords in its distribution with the other classes of animals, but which has been over- whelmed, and in some cases perhaps exterminated, by im- migrants from the adjacent countries. The result is a mixture of races, in which the foreign element is in excess ; but naturalists need not be bound by the same rule as polli- ticlans, and may be permitted to recognise the just claims of the more ancient inhabitants, and to raise up fallen nationalities. The aborigines, and not the invaders, must NEW SERIES.—-VOL. XIX. NO, 1.—JgaNuaRy 1864. B 10 Mr Alfred R. Wallace on some Anomalies be looked upon as the rightful owners of the soil, and should determine the position of their country in our system of Zoological geography. My friend, Mr Bates, has kindly furnished me with some facts as to the entomology of Chili and south temperate America, which would show that the insects of this region have very little connection with those of tropical America. Out of ten genera of butterflies found in Chili, not one is characteristic of tropical America. Four (Colias, Argynnis, Erebia, and Satyrus) are northern forms, only one of which occurs at all in tropical America, and that high up in the Andes ; three others are peculiar to Chili, but have decided north temperate or Arctic affinities ; and three more (An- thocharis, Lycena, and Polyommatus) are cosmopolitan, but far more abundant in temperate than tropical regions. Judging, therefore, from butterflies only, we should de- cidedly have to place south temperate America in the Ne- arctic region, or form it into a region by itself. Two important families of Coleoptera, the Geodephaga and the Lamellicornes, furnish different but equally re- markable results. There are 77 genera of these families found in Chili, of which 46 are peculiar to south temperate America, being 2ths of the whole ; 17 are cosmopolitan, 2 are north temperate, 10 tropical American, and 1 is African. But of the 46 peculiar genera, no less than 10 are closely allied to Australian forms, and 3 to South African,—so that the affinities of these groups of coleoptera are almost as strong to Australia as to tropical America; next comes South Africa, and, lastly, the north temperate zone; though as the two genera Carabus and Geotrupes are very extensive and important, and are totally absent from the tropics, but appear again in Chili, the real amount of affinity to northern regions may be taken as somewhat larger. Here, then, as only 10 genera out of 77 are common to south temperate and tropical America, and as the remainder have wide-spread affinities—to the northern hemisphere, to Australia, and to South Africa—it would seem impossible, from a consideration of these families of Coleoptera alone, not to separate the south temperate zone of South America as a distinct primary region. in Loological and Botanical Geography. 11 Other orders of insects and other familes of Coleoptera may very probably give somewhat different results. From Boheman’s work on the Cassidide, I find that the genera of tropical America send representatives into Chili, and even into Patagonia, and that none of the south temperate forms have a direct affinity with those of Australia. But this family is almost exclusively tropical, very few and obscure species inhabiting the colder regions of the earth, while there are no generic forms peculiar to the Australian region. In many of the preceding facts we have a most in- teresting correspondence with those furnished by the distri- bution of plants. Dr Hooker has shown the large amount of resemblance between the flora of southern South America and Australia, especially Tasmania and New Zealand,—one- eighth of the whole New Zealand flora being identical with South American species. Again, the occurrence of north- ern genera of coleoptera in Chili, and the whole of the butterflies having northern affinities, agrees with the number of northern genera and species of plants in Patagonia and Fuegia, and is an additional proof of the intensity and long continuance of the glacial epoch which sufliced to allow so many generic forms to pass the equator from north to south. We have here another illustration how much easier of diffusion, and how much more dependent on local condi- tions are insects than the higher animals. A great part of the southern portion of America is of more recent date than the central tropical mass, and must have had at one time a closer communication than at present with the antarctic lands and Australia, the insects and plants of which, finding a congenial climate, established themselves in the new country, being only feebly opposed by the few northern forms which had already, or soon after, migrated there. And the fact that Tasmania and New Zealand are the poorest countries in the world in butterflies, will enable us to under- stand how it is that all those found in Chili are northern forms, while the coleoptera of the same countries (Tas- mania and New Zealand) being tolerably abundant and varied, and having a shorter journey to perform than the north temperate immigrants, were enabled to get the upper hand in colonizing the new country. 12 Mr Alfred R. Wallace on some Anomalies The marsupial Opossums are the most remarkable case of vertebrata in America having Australian affinities. It is very doubtful whether these could have been introduced in the same manner as the plants and insects already alluded to, because the latter have to a considerable extent an ant- arctic character, and do not appear in such numbers as to indicate an actual continuity of land, which would have been almost indispensable for the passage of mammalia, and would at the same time have undoubtedly admitted Australian forms of land birds, which do not exist in South America. It seems more reasonable, therefore, to suppose that these marsupials have inhabited America since the Eocene period, when the same genus existed in Europe, and the marsupial order had probably a universal distribution. With this one exception, the birds, the mammalia, and the reptiles* of south temperate America have little or no affinity either with north temperate or Australian forms, but are modifications of the true denizens of the Neotropical regions. They appear to have been enabled rapidly to seize hold of the country, and to adapt themselves to its modified climate and physical features—a remarkable instance of which is mentioned by Mr Darwin in the woodpecker of the Pampas, which never climbs a tree. The tropical insects, on the other hand, having become gradually spe- ciahzed during long periods fora life amid continual verdure aud unvarying summer, were totally unfitted for the new conditions presented to them, and only in a very few cases were able to struggle against forms already adapted to a more barren country and a more rigorous climate. This difference in the adaptive capacity of groups, com- bined with an unequal power of diffusion, will cause the various kinds of barriers to be sometimes more and some- times less effective. For example, when a mountain range has attained only a moderate elevation, it will already com- pletely bar the passage of many Sneeries while mammalia, birds, and reptiles, more capable of sustaining et caae conebitans will readily pass over it. On the otherhand, an arm of the sea, or even a wide river, will completely * Except the batrachians, which show some afilinities between Australia and South America, a case analogous to that of Japan. in Zoological and Botanical Geography. 18 isolate most mammals and many reptiles, while insects have still various means of passing it. Another consideration which must help to determine the amount of specific peculiarity in a given region, is the average rate at which specific forms have changed. Pale- ontologists have determined that mammalia have changed much more rapidly than mollusca, from the phenomena of the comparatively recent extinction of so many species of mammals, whose remains are found along with existing species of shells. From the evidence of the distribution of existing species, birds would appear to have changed at least as quickly as mammals, and insects, in some cases, perhaps more so; owing, no doubt, to their very small dif- fusibility, and the readiness with which they are affected by local conditions. Taking the various facts and arguments now brought for- ward into consideration, it appears evident that no regions (be they few or many in number) can be marked out, which will accurately represent the phenomena of the geographical distribution of all animals and plants. The distribution of the several Classes, Orders, and even Families, will differ, because they differ in their diffusibility, their variability, and their mode of acting and reacting on each other, and on the external world. At the same time, though the details of the distribution of the different groups may differ, there will always be more or less general agreement in this respect, because the great physical features of the earth— those which have longest maintained themselves unchanged —wide oceans, lofty mountains, extensive deserts—will have forbidden the intermingling or migration of all groups. alike, durme long periods of time. The great primary divisions of the earth for purposes of natural history should, therefore, correspond with the great permanent features of the earth’s surface—those that have undergone least change in recent geological periods. Later and less important changes will have led to discrepancies in the actual distri- bution of the different groups ; but these very discrepancies will enable us to interpret those changes, of which they are the direct effects, and very often the only evidence. From this examination of the anomalies that occur in 14 Mr Alfred R. Wallace on some Anomalies the distribution of different groups, and of the probable causes of such anomalies, it appears that the six regions of Dr Sclater do approximately represent the best primary divisions of the earth for natural history purposes. They agree well with the present distribution of mammaha, birds, reptiles, land shells, and very generally of insects also. The cases in which they do not seem correct are those of isolated groups in restricted localities. The greatest discrepancies occur in groups which have at once great capacities for diffusion, and little adaptability to change of conditions; and, in the case of plants, have probably been much in- creased by what may be called the adventitious aid of the glacial period and of floating ice. Of botanical distribution-I have said little, from want of knowledge of that branch of the subject, and I can find no detailed information bearing Wirectly upon the questions here discussed, but what I have already mentioned. It is much to be desired that some competent botanist would point out how far these regions agree with, and how far they contradict, the main facts of the distribution of plants. It seems evident that the various modes of glacial action have produced much more effect on the migrations of plants than on those of animals, and also that plants have, on the whole, more varied and more effectual means of dispersal. Still, if the views here advocated are true, the flora of each region should exhibit a characteristic substratum of indi- genous forms, though often much modified, and sometimes nearly overwhelmed by successive streams of foreign invasion. My object in calling attention to the subject by this very partial review of it, is to induce those naturalists, who are working at particular groups, to give more special attention to geographical distribution than has hitherto been done. By carefully working out the distribution of allied genera and closely connected groups of species, they could give the amount of agreement or discrepancy with other groups whose geography is best known, and furnish us with such information on the habits of the species, as might help to explain the anomalies which were found to occur. We should thus soon accumulate a sufficiency of detailed facts to enable us to determine whether these are the best pri- in Zoological and Botanical Geography. 16 mary divisions of the earth into terrestrial Zoological and Botanical regions, or whether such general divisions are altogether impracticable. Some such simple classification of regions is wanted to enable us readily to exhibit broad results, and to show ata glance the external relations of local faunas and floras. And if we go more into detail, and adopt a larger number of primary divisions, we shall not only lose many of these advantages, but shall probably find insuperable difficulties in harmonising the conflicting distribution of the different groups of organised beings. On the Slaking of Quicklime. By Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S., Lond. and Edin.* In some experiments which I have made on the slaking of quicklime, as its conversion into a hydrate is commonly called, I have noticed certain results new to me, and as I can- not find them noticed in any chemical work I have referred to, I propose to give a brief account of them on the possi- bility that they may be new to others. It is well known that as soon as water is added to and absorbed by well-burnt lime fresh from the kiln, an imme- diate union takes place, the mass becoming broken up and falling into powder, with the production of much heat and steam.f But if the lime has been kept exposed to the air for two or three days, during which time it absorbs a small quantity of water,{ without at all disintegrating, the same rapid union is not witnessed on the addition of water sufficient to form a hydrate ; on the contrary, some minutes will elapse before the combination takes place, and I find there is a similar retardation of action from other causes as shown by the results of the following experiments :— 1. Toa piece of lime taken from a mass, such as that * Read at the Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held at Newcastle. (1863.) + Gunpowder and sulphur have been ignited byit. See Annales de Chem. et de Phys. xxili. p. 217. About six pounds were slaked. ft A little carbonic acid is absorbed at the same time, but this latter is not essential, inasmuch as the lime exhibits the same peculiarity if kept in damp air, excluding carbonic acid. 16 Dr John Davy on the Slaking of Quicklime. adverted to, ten grains of water were added. The whole of the water was absorbed. As I held it, a very shght sensa- tion of warmth was perceived by the fingers in contact with it—a sensation that occurred immediately, and for about eight minutes it did not distinctly increase. About that time small cracks began to appear at the surface of the piece; the temperature instantly sensibly rose, and in another minute the heat became too great to be bearable. Now, put down, in a few seconds it became rent, and the hydrate was formed. 2. In a piece of lime of two or three pounds, a hole was bored an inch and half in depth, sufficiently large to admit the bulb of athermometer. Water, no more than the lime could absorb, was next poured on the mass. The thermo- meter, from 55°, immediately rose to 70°. During about elght minutes little change of temperature was observed ; then, in less than a minute, the thermometer rose to 280°, accompanied with the production of steam and the falling to pieces of the mass. 3. Into a small receiver, 23 inches high, 14 inch in dia- meter, quicklime in fine powder (just pounded) was put in sufficient quantity to fill it to about two-thirds. A ther- mometer then introduced stood about 60°. Next added water, more and more, till the whole of the lime appeared to be moistened. This done, in about half a minute, the thermometer stood at 80°; in about five minutes it had fallen to 78°; then it began to rise; in one minute it had risen to 100°, in less than half a minute more to 120°; then, after a few seconds, an explosion took place, the thermo- meter was thrown out and the lime was scattered, some even beyond twelve feet. 4. Into the same receiver about the same quantity of pounded lime was introduced with excess of water, and the mixture was immediately stirred. The lime subsided on rest; there was about one-tenth of an inch of superincum- bent water. After about twenty minutes the temperature had become a little higher; in about five minutes more steam was produced, but there was no explosion. o. To a piece of quicklime, weighing 88°3 grs., 9:2 grs. of water were added. A slight increase of temperature was Dr John Davy on the Slaking of Quicklime. ly produced. After about a quarter of an hour it ‘became warm, but quite bearable; portions fell off one after an- other, but no high temperature was produced. When cool, it was again weighed ; its weight was now 93°8 grs.; so it had gained only 5°5 gers. of water. The portions which had fallen off, put into water, were some minutes before they became hot; then they fell to powder, and became a thick paste. 6. A piece of quicklime, weighing 310 grains, was kept an hour and a half in a close vessel with some damp paper. During this time it had increased in weight only half a grain. Now added gradually, in about half a minute, 19°5 grains of water. The water, in minute quantity, was applied successively to different parts of the mass. There was no sensible increase of temperature ; 13°5 grains more of water were added ; still no increase of temperature. After twenty- four minutes 6 grains more were added, without percep- tible effect ; and an hour later 6 more, making a total of 45 grains. Shortly after some action had taken place, and a portion had fallen to powder with evolution of heat ; next morning the whole mass was found broken up and reduced to the state of powder. 7. To 76 grains of quicklime reduced to fine powder, 11 grains of water were added in two portions, triturating the powder on each addition. I am not aware of any heat having been produced, nor did I see indications of any action. ‘The dry powder was put into a tube and tightly corked. On the day following there was no perceptible change. Now added water in great excess, so as to form a thick paste. After a few minutes there was a slight increase of temperature; after twelve, it had become moderately warm, and it continued so some time, showing the slow for- mation of the hydrate. Do not these results warrant the’ conclusion, that lime is capable of uniting feebly with less water than is required to form the hydrate, that consisting of one proportion of each, the weaker compound containing probably two propor- tions of lime. In the last-mentioned experiments the quan- tity of water was nearly in accordance with this compo- sition. NEW SERIES.—VOL, XIX. NO. I.— JANUARY 1864. C 18 Dr John Davy on the Slaking of Quicklime. I shall now relate one or two other results which are rather favourable to this conclusion, and at the same time show how unstable is the union (if it be admitted) with the smaller proportion of water. 8. To 39°5 ers. of quicklime added gradually 4 grs. of water. A little heat was produced, but a bearable one. Now plunged the mass into cold water, moving it rapidly for about a minute; it remained cool. Transferred it now to the balance; ithad gained 8 grs. In a few seconds action took place, and the hydrate was formed. This experiment has been more than once repeated with the same result. 9. Instead of mere water a mixture of about equal parts of water and sulphuric ether was poured on a piece of quickliime. The immediate effect was the cooling of the little mass by the evaporation of the ether. For many minutes there was a retardation of action, and when it began it went on slowly, the evaporation probably inter- fering, and preventing rapidity of combination. 10. If, instead of cooling the quicklime, its temperature be at all raised, so much the more rapidly is the hydrate formed on the addition of water. Thus, on pouring a few drops of water on a small piece of quicklime fresh from the fire, allowed to cool, so that its warmth was hardly to be felt, no sooner did the water touch it than the union took place with explosive violence, driving the little frag- ments to the distance of several feet. There are other results which I have obtained of like significance. 11. If aqua ammonie, or a strong solution of common salt, or of chloride of calcium—compounds having an affi- nity for water, and not readily parting with it—be added to quicklime, the formation of the hydrate is more or less re- tarded, but is nowise prevented, and when it takes place it is sudden, with the usual phenomena as to evolution of heat, &c. 12. A similar retardation is witnessed when quicklime in mass is put into a solution of the carbonate or sesquicar- bonate of ammonia, or of the carbonate or bicarbonate of potash ; but when action commences it is rapid, the hydrate of lime being formed, with the usual production of heat. Dr John Davy on the Slaking of Quicklime. 19 But if the lime be reduced to the state of a very fine powder, and mixed (using trituration) with a strong solu- tion of either, a carbonate of lime is formed with a very shght elevation of temperature—that small degree refer- rible, I believe, to the portion of hydrate at the same time produced. On the supposition that two of lime can unite with one proportion of water, the instability of the compound is no more than might be expected. There are many analogous examples, such as the sesquicarbonate of ammonia, the neutral carbonate of this alkali, and the bicarbonate of potash and soda. A priort, we cannot predicate the chemi- cal relation of one body to another; it may be conjectured, but it can only be determined by experiment. It might be supposed, that because carbonic acid is expelled from lime by a bright red heat, that it would not combine with this acid at a dull red heat. Yet this I find is the case. Considering the high temperature produced in the act of union of water and lime, and the quantity of steam that may be generated, the idea could hardly fail to occur, that the formation of the hydrate may be applicd to some useful purpose, such as the blasting of rocks; and if successful, might be especially useful in collieries as a substitute for gunpowder, which has so often occasioned, by the igniting of gas, terrible accidents with loss of life. The few trials I have instituted, with a view to this application, have not answered my expectations. I shall mention one or two of the latest I have made. Recently 1 had a boring made in a block of sandstone, about 15 inches deep and 2 inches in diameter. It was filled with small pieces of quicklime ; water was poured in, which, it was in- ferred, found its way to the bottom in sufficient quantity, and the hole was then firmly closed by a plug of wood. No rending of the rock was produced ; yet the hydrate was formed. It must be concluded that the elastic expansive force exerted was not superior to the resistance, and that all the steam was condensed. A second experiment was made, substituting for the boring in rock a strong earthen- ware jar, capable of holding about a quart. It was simi- larly charged and tightly corked; the cork bound down 20 Dr John Davy on the Slaking of Quicklime. firmly by a cord. After about fifteen minutes an explosion took place. The report was like that of a pistol. The jar was broken into several pieces, and some of them were pro- jected many yards from the spot. Now; as coal is not nearly so resisting as sandstone, and as its boring is easily effected, I venture to express the hope that the experiment may Be repeated in a colliery. It is easily made, at a cost not worth mentioning, is at- tended with no serious danger; and should it be successful, it may conduce to the saving of many valuable lives. Some Observations on the Blood, chiefly in relation to the question, Is Ammonia in its volatile state one of its Normal Constituents? By Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S. Lond. and Edin., &c. Of the many questions which have been propounded respecting the blood, there are two in particular which of late years have excited some interest and have given rise to much discussion ; one, whether it contains any ammonia in a volatile state ;—the other, whether the escape of volatile ammonia is the cause of that characteristic quality of healthy blood, its coagulation ? The latter question has been answered, as is well known, in the affirmative by Dr Benjamin Richardson in a work of much ability, a successful prize essay, which was published in 1858. Shortly after, viz., in the following year, I endeavoured to show that this is not the case. The experi- ments I made were mostly on the blood of the common fowl, which I selected chiefly on account of the rapid manuer in which the blood of birds coagulates, and its high tempera- ture during the time the phenomenon is in progress. The results were all negative. The coagulation took place without obvious difference of time whether the blood was allowed to coagulate in a closed vessel, or exposed to the air, as, for instance, when received into a vial, the blood com- pletely filling it, and instantly closed by a glass stopper,— or into a vial of the same kind and the stopper left out. Further, I found that when ammonia in a notable quantity Dr John Davy on the Blood. 21 was added to the blood, its coagulation was not prevented. These results, all of them well marked, seemed to warrant the conclusion that the volatile alkali is no wise concerned in the coagulation of the blood. I have made many experi- ments since, and they have all been of a confirmatory kind.* The other question, whether the volatile alkali is a normal constituent of the blood, is not so easily answered, and there is a difference of opinion on the subject among physiologists: thus, Frederichs, who has the reputation of being an ac- curate observer, thinks that it forms no part of the vital fluid ; whilst Dr Hammond takes the opposite view, and believes with Dr Richardson that it is an integrant part of that fluid, and that he has detected it in no less than four- teen experiments, even in the blood of the common fowl, employing Dr Richardson’s test—that is, a slip of glass moistened with hydrochloric acid, and exposed to the vapour rising from the blood. He does not state the particulars of the trials he made. This, | cannot but hold to be an omission, considering the nature of the fluid, how readily it changes, how apt it is to undergo decomposition,—that of the putrid kind,—and in the act to give rise to the production of ammonia in the form of the volatile carbonate. I believe there is no exaggeration in stating that the instant the blood is taken from the living body a change of this kind commences ; hardly perceptible indeed at first, but with advance of time, especially at a temperature above 60 Fahr., rapidly increasing. In illustra- tion, I shall give the details of an experiment which I have made after the reading of Dr Hammond’s statement. When the thermometer in the open air was 62°, a pullet was kiiled by dividing the great vessels in the neck. The blood, which was very florid, was collected in three small cups, and each was covered with a plate of glass moistened with hydrochloric acid. In each the blood coagulated in less than two minutes. After an exposure of five minutes the glass from one of them was removed, and the acid * See Trans. Roy. Soc. of Edin. for 1859; and my Physiological Re- searches, London, 1863. + Physiological Memoirs, Philadelphia, 1863. I quote thig author, being one of the latest and ablest inquirers I can refer to. 22 Dr John Davy on the Blood. evaporated at a low temperature ; now on examination, whilst still warm, using a 4-inch power, not a trace of muriate of ammonia was visible. After ten minutes’ exposure, another glass was removed ; the result was similar. After fifteen minutes, the third was examined ; now, tliere were traces of the salt in unmistakable crystals. A fresh plate with acid was now put on the first cup, and left on five minutes; on evaporation, a distinct formation of the salt was found on the glass. In further illustration of the rapid manner in which ammonia is formed and evolved in connection with the change which takes place in animal matter after deprivation of life, I shall mention another experiment, made when the temperature of the air was 64°. A portion of muscle, with a little fat (together equal in weight to 90°7 grs.), was taken from the leg of a lamb in less then ten minutes after it had been killed by the butcher; the flesh was still warm. After fifteen minutes (the time taken in bringing it from the slaughter-house) it was put into a small low cup and covered, without being in contact, with a plate of glass moistened with dilute acid. After an hour, the glass was taken off and the acid evaporated ; a distinct trace of muriate of ammonia was left. The experiment was repeated; the glass was left on for two hours and twenty minutes: now, the result, as shown by the Cokes formed on evaporation, was still more strongly marked. It was again repeated — without delay, and the glass was left on from 6.4 P.m., to 12 p.m. The formation of crystals now obtained on eva- poration was copious; they were, as seen with the 4-inch power, large and characteristic, and yet the meat was not apparently the least tainted ; it had undergone during the time—altogether about nine hours—no change of colour, and had not acquired the shghtest unpleasant smell. Need I point out the bearing of the results of these experi- ments on those of Dr Hammond ? If he delayed examining the blood for two or three hours, and more especially if his experiments were made during the summer, his finding ammonia in the vapour of fowl’s blood is no more than might be expected. Still, it may be said, it 1s open to question whether ‘Dr John Davy on the Blood. 23 ammonia, and in its volatile state, does not exist in the blood of other animals, and even in excessively minute quantity, in the blood of birds. Reasoning from certain facts this seems probable. It is known in the instance of man that the air expired com- monly contains a minute quantity of this alkali, leading to the inference that it is exhaled from the lungs, and previ- ously existed in the blood. Dr Richardson, in the work already quoted, gives an account of many experiments seemingly conclusive on this point. I may relate a few which I have made, employing the same method which he used. The subjects of the trials were persons of different ages, including infants, all in health. The expiration directed on the moistened glass was made through one nostril, the other and the mouth closed. Forty deep inspir- ations In my own case were commonly suflicient to afford distinct, though slight, traces of muriate of ammonia, as seen with the high power after the evaporation of the acid, and whilst the glass was still warm. Jarely, in any instance, have no traces of the salt been obtained. The indications, however, have been variable, sometimes stronger, sometimes feebler, as if depending on states of the system at different times of the day and under different conditions,—a varia- bility which Dr Richardson also observed.* * In the experiments described above, the precaution was taken of breathing through the nostril to avoid the risk of error which might occur were the respiration through the mouth : in the latter case, the result might be vitiated, and an erroneous inference made, were there a tooth undergoing decay, or a bit of meat adhering, from which, if in a state of incipient putrefaction, ammonia could not fail to be exhaled. When I have compared the breath expired from the lungs through the nostrils and through the mouth, I have found stronger indications in most instances of ammonia from the latter than from the former. I need hardly remark, it is so obvious to reason, that this test of ammonia may have a useful applicatior. in medical practice—eyg., in diagnosing the earlier and later stages of pulmonary consumption. It may be worthy of mention, that the transparent limpid fluid which so often drops from the nose in cold weather (as it were by distillation) has had, as often as I have examined it, an alkaline reaction, and has afforded. after the addition of hydrochloric acid, on evaporation, distinct crystals of muriate of ammonia, mixed with which have been a few of common salt. The healthy saliva, as is well known, has the same reaction, and, similarly treated, affords erystals of the same kind as the preceding—tending to prove that ammonia in each instance is eliminated, and is derived from the blood. 24 Dr John Davy on the Blood. I have obtained also traces of the volatile alkali from the breath of other animals. In the instances of the horse and duck they were unmistakeable. The trials were made in the same manner as that described—the mouth and one nostril closed. The time occupied was about five minutes. In the instance of the common fowl, no trace was detected ; but as its nostril is very much smaller than that of the duck, it is not so easy to direct the current of expired air on the spot moistened with the acid. The crystals obtained from the breath of the horse were so large as to be dis- tinctly seen with a glass of a quarter-inch power, yet were hardly appreciable by weight. These trials were made in the open air. | Besides an exhalation of ammonia from the lungs, it is also well ascertained that it is excreted by the skin. It has been found in sweat by Berzelius in the form of the muriate, and has been detected by other inquirers. Like Dr Richardson, I have found it evolved even in insensible perspiration. Here is an instance :— When the thermometer in my room was 70°, a slip of glass moistened with the dilute acid was kept under the palm of the warm hand for ten minutes, carefully avoiding contact; now, on examina- tion, after evaporation of the acid, a trace of muriate of ammonia was obtained in minute crystals, sufficiently dis- tinct, and more than I could have expected. This experi- ment | have repeated on myself and others with like result. The warmer the weather, and the higher the temperature of the surface, the larger commonly has been the proportion of the salt formed. It is noteworthy, that when the glass, without the addition of the acid, had been exposed to the insensible perspiration during the same length of time, no trace of salt was detected on it; leading to the inference that the ammonia exhaled is in the volatile form, and pro- bably in union with carbonic acid. Reflecting on these facts, it seemed probable that if ammonia in the volatile state exists in the blood, it is likely to be in a larger proportion in venous than in arterial blood, on the supposition that it is exhaled from the lungs with carbonic acid in the act of expiration. To test this I made trial of the two kinds of blood, one from the jugular Dr John Davy on the Blood. 25 vein, the other from the carotid artery of a lamb about to be slaughtered. The weather at the time was warm, the thermometer in the shade 75°. The quantity of blood col- lected of each kind was about the same, the recipient vessels of lke size, capable of holding about three ounces. The instant they were filled they were covered with a plate of glass partially moistened with the acid. After fifteen minutes an examination was made in the manner before described. On the glass exposed to the arterial blood no muriate of ammonia could be detected with the high power of the microscope; but on that exposed to the venous a trace of the salt was observed. I shall now mention some other instances in which, using the same method, I have examined the blood in spe- cial quest of ammonia. The animals from which the blood was obtained were the common fowl, the duck, horse, sheep, heifer, calf, sea-trout (Salmo trutia), and toad. In all the experiments, in those already described and those which follow, due precautions were taken to avoid as much as pos- sible error, and this both in relation to the acid used and the place where the trials were made ; in many instances, for greater security, a comparative experiment was made under the same circumstances as to time and locality, with the acid alone and the blood alone. The results of these were negative.* 1. Of the Common Fowl.— When the temperature of the open air was 47°, a hen of about three years old was killed by the division of the great cervical vessels. The blood that first flowed was received into a wine-glass. It coagulated almost instantly, certainly in less than half a minute. A plate of glass moistened with acid was immediately placee over it. After about five minutes it was taken off, and the acid evaporated ; no trace of ammonia could be detected on it, on inspecting it with the high power. The blood which flowed last, which also rapidly coagulated, and was nearly * In my earlier experiments, those made in 1859, the test employed for the detection of ammonia was a glass rod, moistened with hydrochloric acid of reduced strength, which, as has been well pointed out by Dr Richardson, is less delicate, less to be relied on than that of the crystalline formation of muriate of ammonia, as seen with the microscope. NEW SERIES,—VOL. XIX. NO. I.— JANUARY 1864. D 26 Dr John Davy on the Blood. equal in quantity, was subjected to the same trial, and for about the same time; it afforded a tolerably distinct trace of muriate of ammonia. Fresh glasses were applied, and it may be generally remarked, that the indications of the evolution of the volatile alkali increased pretty regularly from hour to hour. 2. Of the Duck.—When the open air was 40°, a duck of about three months old was killed m the same manner as the fowl. The blood, as it flowed, was received into two wine-glasses, and into a smaller glass, in each of which it was subjected to the same treatment as the preceding. In the first glass, it coagulated in about two minutes; in the second, there was a slight retardation; in the third, the retardation reached about ten minutes. The blood which flowed first was brightest. The plates of glass, moistened with acid, were examined after about ten minutes’ exposure. On that from the first, not a trace of the salt could be de- tected under the high power; on that from the second and third, a slight trace was visible; on repetition, and four hours’ exposure (this in a room the temperature of which was 50°, the first was in the open air), a trace of salt was obtained from each portion, strong from the second, and in proportion to quantity of blood; also from the third, but very slight from the first. In this, as in the preceding example, the saline formation obtained by repetition of the trials increased, and the more rapidly as putridity advanced. 3. Of the Horse-—When the open air was 65°, three ounces of blood were taken from the jugular vein of a car- riage-horse. A prepared plate of glass was instantly placed over it. After half an hour, when the blood had coagu- lated, and when the buffy coat that had formed was equal nearly in thickness to the crassamentum which had sub- sided, an examination for ammonia was made; barely a trace of it was discernible, no crystals could be detected, merely numerous minute granules. On a fresh glass, after thirty minutes, a distinct trace was obtained, and in a crys- tallime form. The trial was repeated as many as four different times in the twenty-four hours. The saline for- mation was found to Increase in quantity with the lapse of time. In the last, the crystals of muriate of ammonia, as lord Dr John Davy on the Blood. 27 seen with the high power, were numerous and large, and yet the glass had increased in weight only ‘01 grain. 4. Of the Sheep.—When the temperature of the air was about 70°, two portions of blood were obtained from a sheep of about three years old, one portion just after the great cervical vessels had been divided—this chiefly arterial ; another when the flow of blood had become languid—this of a darker hue, and, it may be inferred, chiefly venous. The quantity of each was about three ounces; they were tested in the same manner as the preceding. The first examination was made after an hour. From the arterial blood a very few and minute crystals of muriate of ammonia were obtained; from the venous, more. ‘The difference was well marked. After two hours, and again after sixteen hours, the trial was repeated. Each time there was an Increase of the salt, and in a somewhat larger proportion from the venous than from the arterial. 0. Of the Calf—The temperature of the air was about the same as the last mentioned, as was also the quantity of blood, which was the first that flowed. Examined after an hour, a distinct but very minute formation of muriate of ammonia was detected. Examined a second and a third time, after the same intervals as the sheep’s blood, the results were very similar. ‘The increase of weight after the last and longest interval did not exceed 0-01 grain. 6. Of the Bullock.—The air was about 65°. The quantity of blood collected was five ounces; it had the character of venous blood, having been obtained when the flow had nearly ceased. Hxamined after eight minutes, distinct crystals of muriate of ammonia were seen on the glass more ~ than in any of the preceding trials. Again, examined at intervals during the twenty-four hours, the results were much the same as the preceding, the quantity of saline matter increasing with the length of time. On the last glass its proportion was greater than in any of the fore- going; the crystals were distinguishable by the naked eye.* * Of these specimens of blood, the sheep’s bore distinct marks of putridity, as indicated by smell and discoloration (reddening of the serum) somewhat earlier than the bullock’s; the bullock’s than the calf’s and horse’s, On the 28 Dr John Davy on the Blood. 7. Of the Sea-Trout.—When in Lewes of the Orkney islands, in the beginning of August, I availed myself of the capture of some fish of this kind in the sea with the net to examine the blood. About half an ounce was collected from three fish by cutting the gills the instant they were taken out of the water. After fifteen minutes’ exposure, on evaporating the acid, a distinct trace of muriate of ammonia was observed, and rather more on a second trial after four hours’ exposure. The coagulum was soft and dark. 8. Of the Toad.—This trial was made in July. The toad was of ordinary size, and vigorous, as it commonly is in this month. Though the quantity of blood was small, it afforded a distinct trace of ammonia after an hour's ex- posure. As the blood was obtained by decapitation, it was a mixture of venous and arterial.* 9. Of the Fluid of the Allantoid of the Egg of the Common Fowl.—In this fluid, when the foetal chick had nearly reached its full time, I have detected ammonia. The fluid was of sp. grav. 1016, of alkaline reaction; on evaporation after the addition of hydrochloric acid, it yielded some minute crystals of muriate of ammonia. In this stage of existence the chick may be considered as differing but little from the batrachian, the respiratory function being of no greater activity than suffices apparently for the organic changes essential to development, and nowise sufficient to- preserve the temperature essential to the life of the foetus. What are the conclusions to be drawn from these re- sults? 1. Do they not all tend to confirm the inference that the congulation of the blood is not owing to the escape third day, the serum of the calf’s blood was still colourless ; that of the horse’s only very slightly coloured. * When stooping over the toad, a nauseous smell was perceived, ad an acrid taste in the pharynx, followed he slight headache and malaise, which at the time I fancied might be owing to vapour from the body of the reptile. The cutaneous glandular structure was in an active state, and distended with its peculiar acrid fluid. t It is very remarkable how rapidly the temperature of the young bird rises when its active respiration is established. The following is an ex- ample :—The temperature of a gosling, in process of hatching, just after the end of the egg had been partially broken, was 94°; two hones later it had risen to 104°; after other two hours to 109°; then its head was out of the shell, and the young bird was making soonaelen efforts to extricate the body. Dr John Davy on the Blood. 29 of the volatile alkali? 2. Are they not favourable to the idea that the blood generally contains a very small propor- tion of ammonia? 3. Do they not also favour the idea that the proportion of ammonia is larger in venous than in arterial blood? 4. And do they not render it probable that in those animals in which the blood is least thoroughly aérated, such as the Batrachians and other allied genera, the proportion of this alkali is greater than in those animals, such as birds and mammalia, of higher temperature and more complete pulmonary respiration ? Should these conclusions be admitted, it is not difficult to imagine the source of the volatile alkah, inasmuch as, irrespectively of the metamorphic changes which are in constant progress in the body at large, were we to confine the attention to the stomach and intestines, we might in them, in the ingesta, in the one during the formation of chyme, and in the other in the further changes going on in them, find the production of ammonia. Whenever I have examined either the contents of the stomach of any of the mammalia killed in health,* or the contents of the intes- tines, I have always detected it; and that it should pass into the blood, may be easily credited, as the urine is seldom free from it, and often abounds in it. On the Relative Effects of Acid and Alkaline Solutions on Muscular Action through the Nerve. By H, F. Baxter, Hsq., Cambridge. The present inquiry originated during an investigation on the subject of Muscular Contraction; and as some experimental conclusions have been based upon the so- called anelectro-tonic state of the nerve, it became of im- portance to ascertain whether this state—electro-tonic— depended upon any peculiar electrical condition, or whether the effects which indicate its existence might not be refer- able to changes, electrolytical, which take place in the nerve; and the facts which I propose to consider are the * See Physiological Researches, by the author, p. 339. 30 Mr H. F. Baxter on the Effects of Acid and Alkalhes following. Ifa current of electricity be made to traverse a portion of a nerve connected with the muscles, a difference will be observed in the effects, as manifested by the muscu- lar contractions, when the current is suspended. The muscles of the limb whose nerve has been traversed by an inverse current will contract tetanically; whilst the muscles, if the current be direct, will contract but once—the tetanic contractions being very rarely produced. These effects vary according to the strength of the current and the time of its passage. Matteucci,* in his papers on the “ Physiological Action of the Electric Current,” came to the conclusion that the passage of the electric current through a mixed nerve produces a variation in the excitability of the nerve, dif- fering essentially in degree, according to the direction of the current through the nerve. This excitability being weakened and destroyed, and that more or less rapidly, ac- cording to the intensity of the current, when it circulates through the nerve from the centre to the periphery (direct current). The excitability, on the contrary, being pre- served and increased by the passage of the same current in a contrary direction, that is to say, from the periphery towards the centre (inverse current). But in a subsequent paper ¢ on the ‘ Secondary Electro-Motor Power of Nerves,” he refers the effects to a secondary electro-motor power, and says, “the secondary current, the existence of which is demonstrated by the galvanometer, and which is derect for the nerve that has been traversed by the cnverse current, and which is also demonstrated by the contractions of the galvanoscopic frog [placed upon the nerve], explains, accord- ing to the known laws of electro-physiology, the effects produced by it on the opening of the circuit.” “ Tf any part of a nerve,’ says Du Bois Reymond,{ “ be submitted to the action of a permanent current, the nerve, in its whole extent, suddenly undergoes a material change in its internal constitution, which disappears on breaking the circuit as suddenly as it came on. This change, which is called the Electro-tonic state, is evidenced by a new electro- motive power, which every point of the whole length of the * Phil. Trans., 1846, 1847. + Ibid., 1861. { On Auimal Electricity. Edited by H. Bence Jones, M.D., p 213. on Muscular Action through the Nerve. 31 nerve acquires during the passage of the current, so as to produce, in addition to the nerve-current, a current in the direction of the extrinsic current. As regards this new mode of action, the nerve may be compared to a voltaic pile, and the transverse section loses its essential import. Hence the electric effects of the nerve, when in the electro-tonic state, may also be observed in nerves without previously dividing them.” On a former occasion* [ endeavoured to ascertain whether the electric condition of the nerve might not, under these circumstances, be increased ; the results of my experiments, however, failed to give any evidence in support of that conclusion ; but, on the contrary, the nerve-current was destroyed, and I was led to suppose that the electric current occasioned a disorganisation of the nerve. The later researches of Matteucci clearly point out the cause of my failure, and confirm in a great measure the results I then attained. In an elaborate article, published in the “ British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review” for July 1862, on general Nerve Physiology (German), it would seem that amongst the German physiologists this state of the nerve is still considered as being in a peculiar state (electro-tonic— electrotonus). Pfluger, who has worked at the subject to some extent, speaks of the portion of nerve connected with the cathode as being brought into the state of catelectro- tone, and that the iritability of this portion is increased and rendered favourable for conducting; whilst that por- tion of the nerve connected with the anode is brought into a state possessing the opposite properties, and is spoken of as being brought into a state of anelectrotone. Reason- ing from the facts established by Matteucci, it appears to me that the two portions of the nerve called anelectrotone and catelectrotone, by Pfluger, correspond to the portions where the acid and alkaline compounds are developed by the electric current; if so, the effects are evidently refer- able to the secondary electro-motor of the nerve as con- sidered by Matteucci. To ascertain how far this supposition * Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, New Series, April 1858. Essay on Organic Polarity, chap. ix. 32 Mr H. F. Baxter on the Kffects of Acid and Alkalies may be correct, it becomes necessary to obtain further evi- dence than that afforded by the use of the electric current, and for this purpose | employed chemical reagents in the following manner :— It is reasonable to suppose, that by placing an acid and an alkaline solution on different portions of a nerve con- nected with the muscles, that some difference might be obtained in the contractions, depending upon the relative position of these solutions in regard. to the muscles. In my first experiments the two limbs remained connected with the spinal cord, but the contractions excited in one limb, in consequence of reflex actions, rendered the results doubtful. The following plan was consequently adopted :— The two lower limbs being separated, a long portion of the sciatic nerve was dissected out and placed on two portions of bibulous paper, resting on distinct pieces of glass, and the leg rested on another distinct piece of glass. The bibulous paper, when well soaked, prevented the solutions from running over the surface of the glass: the distances between the place where the solutions were applied and the muscles could be varied at pleasure ; but the piece of glass upon which the hmb rested was higher than the others, so as to keep the solutions from running down on to the muscles. To prevent the nerve from being moved during the contractions of the muscles, it was necessary to fasten the limb down, either by a lhgature or by placing a weight on the thigh bone. The limb in which the acid solution was nearest the muscle will be designated by the letter a; that in which the alkaline solution was nearest to the muscle by the letter 0. I need scarcely add that the nerves should be placed on distinct papers and glasses, otherwise a circuit would be formed between the two nerves, if resting on the same papers. ) The acids comprised the sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, and the acetic acid. Three solutions of each were prepared, varying in strength, and consisting—No 1, of 1 part of acid to 10 of water; No. 2, of equal parts of acid and water ; No. 3, of concentrated acid. The alkaline solutions, com- prising those of potash, ammonia, and soda, were formed as on Muscular Action through the Nerve. 30 follows:—The potash solution, No. 1, consisted of 1 part liq. potasse to 10 of water; No. 2, of equal parts of liq. potasse and water; No. 3, of pure hq. potasse. The ammonia solution—No. 1, of 1 part liq. ammonie to 10 of water; No. 2, of equal parts of liq. ammonie and water ; No. 38, of concentrated liq. ammonie. The soda solution— No. 1, of a scruple of bicarbonate of soda to one ounce of water; No. 2, of two drachms of the bicarbonate to one ounce of water. The acids and alkalies were those pre- pared according to the London Pharmacopeeia. , Some care is requisite in applying the solutions. The best plan was to use a glass rod instead of a piece of glass tubing, or a glass pen, which could be easily cleaned ; and as it was necessary to apply the solutions simultaneously, two rods were required. Or, instead of dropping the solu- tions wpon the nerve, the solutions were placed on the papers and the nerve then dropped upon the solutions. - Having arranged the nerve of a and of b upon the papers, which were one-eighth of an inch in width, and the distance between the papers a quarter of an inch, whilst that of the muscle from the paper was half an inch, the limbs being firmly secured, the first experiments were for the purpose of ascertaining the effect of placing the solutions, not simul- taneously upon the nerve, but one after the other. The nitric acid and potash solutions were employed. Upon placing the alkaline solution, No. 1, upon the nerves, a slight contraction in a, but none in 0; No. I acid solution was now placed upon the nerves—no effect. The acid solution, No. 1, was placed upon the nerves—no effect. On placing the alkaline solution on the nerves, a shght contraction in a, but none in 6. The No. 2 solutions were now employed in the same manner: with the alkaline solutions, contrac- tions in both limbs, consisting of two strong contractions in a and four in 6; upon placing the acid solutions on the nerves, three contractions were excited in a, but none in b. When the acid solutions were first placed upon the nerves, two contractions in a, none in 0; but upon the addition of the alkaline solutions, three strong contractions in b, slight fibrillar contractions in a. With the solutions No. 3, with the alkaline, three strong contractions in a, NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. I.—JaANuARY 1864. E 34 Mr H. F. Baxter on the Liffects of Acids and Alkalies four in 0; on the addition of the acid, none in 6, three strong ones in a. With the acid solutions, two in a, one in 0; upon the addition of the alkaline, none in a, four strong contractions in 6, From the foregoing experiments we see—J rst, that the alkaline solutions excite stronger muscular contrac- tions than the acid solutions; and Secondly, that the strong solutions, especially the acids, prevent the transmission of nervous impressions excited at the distal extremities of the nerve, which is no doubt due to the disorganisation of the nervous structure. In the following experiments, the solutions were placed simultaneously upon the nerves, beginning with the weaker solutions. . Experiment 1.—With Nitrie Acid and Potash. With No. 1 solutions.—A slight contraction in a, none in b. With No. 2 solutions——_Two powerful contractions in 6; slight contractions and more continued in a. With No. 3 solutions.—Four powerful contractions in 6b, but only one in a. | EXPERIMENT II].—With Mitric Acid and Ammonia. With No. 1 solutions.—A slight contraction in 6, none in a. With No. 2 solutions.—Slight fibrillar contractions in b, two powerful ones in a, and after a short time, slight fibrillar contrac- tions. With No. 3 solutions——Three powerful contractions in b, and two in @. I was much surprised at these results with the ammonia solutions, as Kuhne* has stated that ammonia is a strong muscular excitant, and that the vapour of ammonia is suffi- cient to cause muscular contractions. On applying the strong solution to the surface of the muscle, slight con- tractions occurred, but with the weak solutions, I could not obtain any effect. I believe that a great many of the results which appear as contradictory arise from neglecting to state the season of the year in which the experiments are per- formed. * Report on Muscular Contraction. By A. B. Duffin, M.D., in Beale’s Archives of Medicine. Nos. 10 and 11. Lond., April 1862. on Muscular Action through the Nerve. 30 My present investigation was undertaken during the months of September and October; the weather at the time being cold, and the frogs were getting apparently into a torpid state, and certainly not so excitable as during the summer months. It is well known that during the spring months, at the time of spawning, the irritability of the frogs is so great, that it is difficult to perform any experi- ments upon them. The mere division of the spinal cord will throw the animal into a state of tetanus; and I have even found that removing them from the water, and hand- ling them, will be quite sufficient to produce the same state. Expertment II1].—With Nitric Acid and Soda. With No. 1 solutions.—No contractions either in a or b. With No. 2 solutions.—Two contractions in a, one in b. With No. 3 acid and No. 2 soda.—Two powerful contractions in a, and then slight fibrillar contractions ; three powerful con- tractions in b. Experiment 1V.—With Sulphuric Acid and Potash. With No. 1 solutions——Slight contraction in a, none in 6. With No. 2 solutions.—One strong contraction in a, and then slight fibrillar contractions; two strong contractions in: b, and slight fibriliar contractions, but they did not last so long as those In a. With No. 3 solutions—Ywo strong contractions in b, three strong contractions in a, EXPERIMENT V.—With Sulphuric Acid and Ammonia. With No. 1 solutions.—Slight fibrillar contractions in b, none in a. With No, 2 solutions.—Two strong contractions in b, three strong contractions in a, and slight fibrillar contractions. With No. 3 solutions—Two strong contractions in a, three strong contractions in 6, and then fibrillar contractions. Experiment VI.—With Sulphuric Acid and Soda. With No. 1 solutions.—A slight contraction in a, none in b. With No. 2 solutions.—Two strong contractions in a, and then slight fibrillar contractions ; one strong contraction in 6. With No. 3 acid and No. 2 soda.—Two strong contractions in a, three strong contractions in 6. 36 Mr H. F. Baxter on the Effects of Acids and Alkales Experiment VII.—With Muriatiec Acid and Potash. With No. 1 solutions —A slight contraction in a and in 6b. With No. 2 solutions.—One strong contraction in a, two con- tractions in 6, and then fibrillar contractions. With No. 3 solutions.—Two strong contractions in a, and then fibrillar contractions; three strong contractions in b. Experiment VIII.—With Muriatic Acid and Ammonia. With No. 1 solutions.—Slight fibrillar contractions both in a and 6b. With No. 2 solutions.—One strong contraction in a, and then fibrillar; three strong contractions in 6. With No. 3 solutions.—One strong contraction in a, four in 6. Experiment [X.—With Muriatie Acid and Soda. With No. 1 solutions.—No contraction either in a or 6. With No. 2 solutions.—Slight contraction in a, none in 6, With No. 3 acid, No. 2 sodu.—One strong contraction in a, and then fibrillar; two in b. EXPERIMENT X.—With Acetic Acid and Potash. With No. 1 solutions.—No effect. With No. 2 solutions —Two strong contractions in a, one in 6. With No. 3 solutions—One strong contraction in a, and then fibrillar; three strong contractions in 6. EXPERIMENT XI,—With Acetic Acid and Ammonia. With No. 1 solutions—A slight contraction in a, none in 6. - With No. 2 solutions.—TIwo slight contractions in 6, three Strong contractions in a. With No. 3 solutions.—T wo strong contractions in 6, one in a. EXPERIMENT XII,.—With Acetic Acid and Soda. With No. 1 solutions.—No effect. With No. 2 solutions —Slight contraction in a, none in b. With No. 3 acid, No. 2 soda.—Two slight contractions in a, one powerful contraction in 6. The first conclusions to be deduced from the results of these experiments, are,—1s¢, That a difference in the position of the solutions on the nerve produces a difference of effect ; 2d, That the contractions which result do not bear any rela- tion, beyond a certain point, to the strength of the solutions, on Muscular Action through the Nerve. Oo” they do not increase with their increased strength ; and, 3d, That a difference is obtained with different solutions, the alkaline solutions producing a greater or more constant effect than those of an acid nature. The next question which naturally arises for consideration is that respecting the mode of action of chemical reagents upon the nervous tissue, in causing muscular contractions. Do they act by reacting upon the electricity of the nervous tissue, or by reacting upon the compound forming the tissue, and thus indirectly, upon the molecular forces asso- ciated with it; or in other words, upon nerve-force ? We have no reason for supposing that chemical reagents would act upon the nervous tissue in.a different manner to that observed during ordinary chemical reactions, much less reason have we for believing that, under these circumstances, the vital property of the tissue, nerve-force, would be in- creased ; we must therefore consider what are the effects that take place during ordinary chemical actions, and I shall limit myself now to the electrical effects. In ordinary chemical actions, it is well known that during chemical combination the compound which performs the part of an acid takes positive electricity, and that of an alkali negative electricity, and the current of electricity which results there- from goes from the alkali to the acid. When we apply our acid and alkaline solutions upon a nerve, the same effects are produced, which can be readily proved by the galvano- meter. Now, the direction of the current, as is well-known, has a most important influence in causing contractions, the direct being far more influential than the zverse. I will first consider the action of a single solution upon a nerve, and believe it to be as follows:—We have first the che- mical changes taking place between the chemical reagent and the nerve, during which changes contractions are excited in the muscle, and an electric current developed at the seat of chemical action; if an acid be employed, the current goes from the nervous tissue to the acid, if an alkali, from the alkali to the nervous tissue. The strength of the current would depend upon that of the solutions. Now, I do not think that when one solution alone is used, that the mus- cular contractions excited depend upon the electric current 38 Mr H. F. Baxter on the Hffects of Acids and Alkales that is developed, but rather upon the changes which take place during the chemical reactions ; when the two solutions are placed upon the nerve, then the actions become more complex ; in addition to those acting upon the nerve, we have those arising from the combination between the solu- tions. If the solutions are weak, there may not be sufficient disorganisation of the nerve produced to prevent it from being able to conduct either nervous impressions, or much less a current of electricity, through the part where the solution has been applied; but if concentrated, then disorganisation takes place, and the nerve becomes incapable of conveying its own impressions, and even perhaps the electric current, so far as to excite nervous action; so that the conducting power of a nerve under these circumstances becomes a point of some consideration. Let us consider for a moment the effects produced by using one solution only, as in my first experiments, and then by adding another. If the weak acid solution be placed near the muscle—no contraction ; let the alkaline so- lution be now placed on the distal side of the nerve—if of sufficient strength, it will cause contractions, in consequence of the acid not destroying the conducting power of the nerve to its own impressions ; but when the combination of the acid with the alkali takes place, we may then have contractions produced, in consequence of the current thus developed, which being direct, going from the alkali to the acid, is favourable for causing contractions. If the acid be too strong, the transmission of the nervous impression is prevented, and very likely the influence of the current also. Let the alkali be placed near the muscle, contractions occur; now, place the acid upon the distal extremity,—no effect; the current is now in the reverse direction—unfavourable for producing contractions. Let the two solutions be placed on the nerve, simultaneously, as in Experiment 1, the same reasoning will apply, and it is interesting to observe, that when the No. 2 solutions were applied, a difference in the nature of the con- tractions were observed, being slightly tetanic in the limb a. In other experiments also, when the acid was near the muscle, the fibrillar or slight tetanic contractions, were more frequently produced than in the otherlimb. It may be said on Muscular Action through the Nerve. 39 that the acid being a stronger muscular excitant, the effects were due to the acid getting upon the muscle ; to avoid this a small quantity of oil was smeared over the surface of the muscle previous to applying the acid, so as to prevent its action, but the same effects were obtained. The results of this inquiry go far to confirm the conclu- sion of Matteucci, that when an electric current has traversed a nerve and is then suspended, the tetanic contractions pro- duced are due to a secondary electro-motor power established in the nerves. If the current be sufficiently strong, there is an electrolyzation of the nervous structure, and conse- quently, an acid developed at the anode and an alkali at the cathode ; as these tetanic contractions are principally observed in the limb in which the current has been inverse, it corresponds to the acid being developed near the muscle, and the alkali at the distal extremity ; and upon the suspen- sion of the current, the current arising from the combina- tion of the compound formed during the electrolyzation of the nervous tissue is then directed towards the muscle, as shown by Matteucci. That the tetanic contractions should be more prolonged after the passage of the electric current, than when the solutions are applied, as in these experiments, is what one would naturally expect, considering that the changes were, in the one case in the substance of the nervous tissue itself, and in the other, merely between the solutions. We have therefore no evidence for believing that the so- called electro-tonic* state of the nerve (electrotonus) is any- thing more than the secondary electro-motor power of the nerves induced by the electric current. The contractions of the muscles becoming, in fact, a galvanoscopic test of the chemical and electrical changes which take place in its own nerve. * It is interesting to observe whence the origin of the term electro-tonic arose. Faraday employed it in his first series of papers (aperimental Researches, vol. 1. p. 16) to indicate the peculiar state in which a wire was supposed to be brought, when subject to volta-electric or magneto-electric induction; but he subsequently found that the supposed effects could be fully explained without admitting the electro-tonic state. 40 On the Antiquity of Man; a Review of “ Lyell” and “ Wilson.”* By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.RB.S., F.G.S., Principal of M‘Gill College and University, Montreal. Communicated by the Author.+ Questions of human origins have always been popular, and have been agitated in all sorts of forms, Next to the dread question of the unknown future, the long-buried past is one of the most attractive subjects of inquiry ; and while the faith of the Christian rests for both on the statements of Holy Scripture, the imagination of the poetical or the superstitious, and the reason of the philosopher or the sceptic, have found ample scope for exercise. In our day, geological investigation on the one hand, and antiquarian and philological research on the other, have given an exact and scientific character to such researches, which, without detracting from their interest, has fitted them to attract a more sustained and systematic attention ; hence the appear- ance of such works as those above named. One of these works is the summing up of the geological evidence in rela- - tion to the origin of man, by one of our greatest masters of inductive reasoning. The other is the effort of a skilful antiquarian and ethnologist to apply to the explanation of the primitive conditions of the old world the facts derived from the study of the more recent primitive state of the western hemisphere. Both books are very valuable. Their methods are quite different, and their results as well; and it may be truly said that the geologist might have profited by the labours of the western antiquarian, had he known of them in time; and that the antiquarian might have found some new problems to solve, and difficulties to remove, had he read the work of the geologist. For this, among other * The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man; with Remarks on Theories of the Origin of Species by Variation. By Sir Charles Lyell, F.R.S. 8vo, pp. 520, illustrated. London, John Murray; Montreal, Dawson Bros. Pre-historic Man—Researches into the Origin of Civilisation in the Old and New World. By Daniel Wilson, LL.D., Professor of History in Uni- versity College, Toronto. 2 vols. 8vo, pp. 488-499, illustrated. London, MacMillan & Co.; Montreal, Dawson Bros. ¢t From the “ Canadian Naturalist,’’ 1863. Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 41 reasons, it may be well to consider them together. It will be necessary for us in doing this to summarise the numer- ous and varied facts adduced, and the reasonings therefrom, and we shall follow the order employed by Sir C. Lyell, bringing in Dr Wilson’s antiquarian lore to our aid as we proceed, The great question to be noticed in this review is that of the connection of human with geological history. How far back in that almost boundless antiquity disclosed by the geologist has man extended?. At what precise point of the geological scale was he introduced on the mundane stage ; and what his surroundings and conditicn in his earlier stages? In answer to these questions, negative geological evidence, and some positive considerations, testify, without a dissenting voice, that man is very modern. All the evidences of his existence have, until the last few years, belonged exclusively to the recent or latest period of the geological chronology. Certain late observations would, however, indicate that man may have existed in the latter part of the Post-pliocene period, and may have been con- temporary with some animals now extinct. Still the evi- dences of this, as well as its true significance, are involved in much doubt; partly because many of the facts relied on are open to objection, partly because of the constant acces- sion of new items of information, and partly because the age of the animals whose remains are found with those of man, and the time required by the physical changes in- volved, are not certain. To these questions Sir Charles addresses himself, with all his vast knowledge of facts relating to tertiary geology, and his great power of generalisation ; and he has, for the first time, enabled those not in the centre of the discus- sions which have for a few years been carried on upon this subject, to form a definite judgment on the geological evi- dence of the antiquity of our species. As a necessary preliminary, Sir Charles inquires as to the recent remains of man, including those which are pre- historic in the sense of antedating secular history, but which do not go back to the period of the extinct mammalia. He refers, in the first place, to the detailed researches of the NEW SERIES,—VOL. XiX, NO. 1.—JaNUARY 1868. F 42 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. Danish antiquaries, respecting certain remains in heaps of oyster-shells found on the Danish coast (which appear to be precisely similar to those heaps accumulated by the American Indians on our coasts from Prince Edward Island to Georgia) ; and respecting similar remains found in peat bogs in that country. These remains show three distinct stages of unrecorded human history in Denmark :—1s?¢, A stone period, when the inhabitants were small-sized men, brachykephalous or short-headed, like the modern Lapps, using stone implements, and subsisting by hunting. Then the country, or a considerable part of it, was covered by forests of Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestris). 2d, A bronze period, in which implements of bronze as well as of stone were used, and the skulls of the people were larger and longer than in the previous period; while the country seems to have been covered with forests of oak (Quercus Robur). 3d, An tron period, which lasted to the historic times, and in which beech forests replaced those of oak. All of these remains are geologically recent ; and except the changes in the forests, and of some indigenous animals in consequence, and probably a slight elevation of some parts of Denmark, no material changes in organic or inorganic nature have occurred. The Danish antiquaries have attempted to calculate the age of the oldest of these deposits, by considerations based on the growth of peat and the succession of trees, but these calculations are obviously unreliable. The first forest of pines would, when it attained maturity, naturally be de- stroyed, as usually happens in America, by forest conflagra- tions. It might perish in this way in a single summer. The second growth which succeeded would in America be birch, poplar, and similar trees, which would form a new and tall forest in half a century; and in two or three cen- turies would probably be succeeded by a second permanent forest, which, in the present case, seems to have been of oak.* This would be of longer continuance, and would, independently of human agency, only be replaced by beech, * The details of this process, as it occurs in America, will be found noticed in a paper by the writer in the “ Edinburgh Philosophical Journal’ for 1847. Such changes are constantly in progress in the American forests. Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 43 if, in the course of ages, the latter tree proved itself more suitable to the soil, climate, and other conditions. Both oak and beech are of slow extension, their seeds not being carried by the winds, and only to a limited degree by birds. On the other hand, the changes of forests cannot have been absolute or universal. There must have been oak and beech groves even in the pine woods; and the growing and increasing beech woods would be contemporary with the older and decaying oak forest, as this last would probably perish not by fire, but by decay, and by the competition of the beeches. In like manner, the growth of peat is very variable even in the same locality. It goes on very rapidly When moisture and other conditions are favourable, and especially when it is aided by wind-falls, drift-wood, or beaver-dams, impeding drainage and contributing to the accumulation of vegetable matter. It is retarded and finally terminated by the rise of the surface above the drainage level, by the clearing of the country, or by the establishment of natural or artificial drainage. On the one hand, all the changes observed in Denmark may have taken place within a minimum time of two thousand years. On the other hand, no one can affirm that either of the three successive forests may not have flourished for that length of time. A chronology measured by years, and based on such data, is evidently worthless. Possibly a more accurate measurement of time might be deduced from the introduction of bronze and iron. If the - former was, as many antiquarians suppose, a local discovery, and not introduced from abroad, it can give no measure- ment of time whatever; since, as the facts so clearly de- tailed by Dr Wilson show, while a bronze age existed in Peru, it was the copper age in the Mississippi valley, and the stone age elsewhere; these conditions might have co- existed for any length of time, and could give no indication of relative dates. On the other hand, the iron introduced by European commerce spread at once over the continent, and came into use in the most remote tribes, and its intro- duction into America clearly marks an historical epoch. With regard to bronze in Europe, we must bear in mind that tin was to be procured only in England and Spain, and in 44 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. the latter in very small quantity: the mines of Saxony do not seem to have been known till the middle ages. We must further consider that tin ore is a substance not me- tallic in appearance, and little likely to attract the atten- tion of savages ; aud that, as we gather from a hint of Pliny, it was probably first observed, in the west at least, as stream tin, in the Spanish gold washings. Lastly, when we place in connection with these considerations, the fact that in - the earliest times of which we have certain knowledge, the tin trade of Spain and England was monopolised by the Pheenicians, there seems to be a strong probability that the extension of the trade of this nation to the western Medi- terranean, really inaugurated the bronze period. The only valid argument against this, is the fact that moulds and other indications of native bronze casting have been found in Switzerland, Denmark, and elsewhere; but these show nothing more than that the natives could recast bronze articles, just as the American Indians can forge fish-hooks and knives out of nails and iron hoops. Other considera- tions might be adduced in proof of this view, but the limits of our article will not permit us to refer to them. The important questions still remain: when was this trade com- menced, and how rapidly did it extend itself from the sea- coast across Europe ? The British tin trade must have been in existence in the time of Herodotus, though his notion of the locality was not more definite than that it was in the extremity of the earth. The Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean must have existed as early as the time of Solomon, when “ ships of Tarshish” was the general designation of sea-going ships for long voyages. How long previously these colonies existed we do not know; but con- sidering the great scarcity and value of tin in those very ancient times, we may infer that perhaps only the Spanish, and not the British, deposits were known thus early ; or that the Phoenicians had only indirect access to the latter. Perhaps we may fix the time when these traders were able to supply the nations of Europe with abundance of bronze in exchange for their products, at, say 1000 to 1200 B.c., as the earliest probable period; and probably from one to two centuries would be a sufficient allowance for the complete Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 45 penetration of the trade throughout Europe; but of course wars or migrations might retard or accelerate the process ; and there may have been isolated spots in which a partial stone period extended up to those comparatively modern times, when first the Greek trade, and afterwards the entire overthrow of the Carthaginian power by the Romans, ter- minated for ever the age of bronze, and substituted the age of iron. This would leave, according to our ordinary chro- nologies, at least ten or fifteen centuries for the post- diluvian stone period ; a time quite sufficient, in our view, for all that part of it represented by such remains as those of the Danish coast, and the still more remarkable platform habitations, whose remains have been found in the Swiss lakes, and which belong properly to the recent period of geology. In connection with this, we would advise the reader to study the many converging lines of evidence derived from history, from monuments, and from language, which Dr Wilson shows, in his concluding chapter, to point to the comparatively recent origin of at least post-diluvian man. Let it be observed, also, that the attempts of Bunsen and others to deduce an extraordinarily long chronology from Kgyptian monuments, and from the diversity of languages, have signally failed ; and that the observations made by Mr Horner in the Nile alluvium are admitted to be open to too many doubts to be relied on.* Before leaving the recent period, it is deserving of note that Sir C. Lyell shows on the best evidence, that in Scot- land, since the building of the wall of Antoninus, an elevation of from twenty-five to twenty-seven feet has occurred both on the eastern and western coast, and consequently that the raised sea-bottoms containing canoes, &c., in the valley of the Clyde, supposed by some to be of extremely ancient date, were actually under water in the time of the Romans; a fact of which, but for their occupation of the country, we should have been ignorant. From the recent period we pass, under the guidance of * The chronology deduced from the Delta of the Tiniére, which would give to the stone period an antiquity of 5000 to 7000 years, appears to us to be similarly defective ; and the data assigned to human remains in the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio, and the old reefs of Florida, still more so. 46 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. Sir Charles, to the Post-pliocene, geologically distinguished from the Recent by the fact that its deposits contain the bones of many great extinct quadrupeds ; as for instance the mammoth, Llephas primigenius, the woolly rhinoceros, £&. tichorhinus, and others, heretofore (but it would seem on insufficient evidence) supposed to have disappeared before the advent of man. The evidence now adduced that prim- eval man was really contemporary with these creatures is manifold and apparently conclusive, and in the work before us is carefully sifted and weighed in all its bearings, much being rejected as inapplicable or uncertain. The evidences relied on are chiefly the following :— 1. Human remains found with those of extinct animals in caves in Belgium, in England, and elsewhere, in circum- stances which preclude the probability of their mixture by interments or other modern causes. 2. The finding of flint implements associated with bones of extinct animals in the valley of the Somme, and elsewhere. 3. A supposed sepulchral cave of this period discovered in the south of France. In addition to these there are many minor facts tending to the same conclusion, but with less distinctness. It is impossible to give extracts which will convey any adequate idea of the facts adduced from the above sources, but the following paragraphs may serve as examples of some of them. ‘They relate to evidence that man was con- temporary with extinct animals, afforded by caverns near Liége, explored by Dr Schmerling, and to the similar evi- dence obtained in the cave of Brixham in England. “The rock in which the Liége caverns occur belongs generally to the Carboniferous or Mountain Limestone, in some few cases only to the older Devonian formation. Whenever the work of destruction has not gone too far, magnificent sections, sometimes 200 and 300 feet in height, are exposed to view. They confirm Schmerling’s doctrine, that most of the materials, organic and inorganic, now filling the caverns, have been washed into them through narrow vertical or oblique fissures, the upper extremities of which are choked up with soil and gravel, and would scarcely ever be discoverable at the surface, especially in so wooded Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 47 a country. Among the sections obtained by quarrying, one of the finest which I saw was in the beautiful valley of Fond du Forét, above Chaudefontaine, not far from the village of Magnée; where one of the rents communicating with the surface has been filled up to the brim with rounded and half-rounded stones, angular pieces of limestone and shale, besides sand and mud, together with bones, chiefly of the cave bear. Connected with this main duct, which is from one to two feet in width, are several minor ones, each from one to three inches wide, also extending to the upper country or table-land, and choked up with similar materials. They are inclined at angles of 30° and 40°, their walls being generally coated with stalactite, pieces of which have here and there been broken off and mingled with the contents of the rents, thus helping to explain why we so often meet with detached pieces of that substance in the mud and breccia of the Belgian caves. It is not easy to conceive that -a solid horizontal floor of hard stalagmite should, after its formation, be broken up by running water; but when the walls of steep and tortuous rents, serving as feeders to the principal fissures, and to inferior vaults and galleries, are en- crusted with stalagmite, some of the incrustation may readily be torn up when heavy fragments of rock are hurried by a flood through passages inclined at angles of 30° or 40°. “The decay and decomposition of the fossil bones seem to have been arrested in most of the caves by a constant supply of water charged with carbonate of lime, which dripped from the roofs while the caves were becoming gradu- ally filledup. By similar agency the mud, sand, and pebbles were usually consolidated. “The following explanation of this phenomenon has been suggested by the eminent chemist Liebig. On the surface of Franconia, where the limestone abounds in caverns, is a fertile soil in which vegetable matter is continually decay- ing. This mould or humus, being acted on by moisture and air, evolves carbonic acid, which is dissolved by rain. The rain-water, thus impregnated, permeates the porous lime- stone, dissolves a portion of it; and afterwards, when the excess of carbonic acid evaporates in the caverns, parts with the caleareous matter and forms stalactite. So long as 48 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. water flows, even occasionally, through a suite of caverns, no layer of pure stalagmite can be produced ; hence the forma- tion of such a layer is generally an event posterior in date to the cessation of the old system of drainage—an event which might be brought about by an earthquake causing new fissures, or by the river wearing its way down to a lower level, and thenceforth running in a new channel. “In all the subterranean cavities, more than forty in number, explored by Schmerling, he only observed one cave, namely, that of Chokier, where thére were two regular layers of stalagmite, divided by fossiliferous cave-mud. In this instance, we may suppose that the stream, after flow- ing for a long period at one level, cut its way down to an inferior suite of caverns, and, flowing through them for cen- turies, choked them up with debris; after which it rose once more to its original higher level : just as in the Moun- tain Limestone district of Yorkshire some rivers, habitually absorbed by a ‘ swallow hole, are occasionally unable to dis- charge all their water through it; in which case they rise and rush through a higher subterranean passage, which was at some former period in the regular line of drainage, as is often attested by the fluviatile gravel still contained in it. ‘There are now in the basin of the Meuse, not far from Liége, several examples of engulphed brooks and rivers: some of them lke that of St. Hadelin, east of Chaudefontaine, which reappears after an underground course of a mile or two ; others, like the Vesdre, which is lost near Goffontaine, and after a time re-emerges ; some, again, like the torrent near Magnée, which, after entering a cave, never again comes to the day. In the season of floods such streams are turbid at their entrance, but clear as a mountain-spring where they issue again ; so that they must be slowly filling up cavities in the interior with mud, sand, pebbles, snail-shells, and the bones of animals which may be carried away during floods. ‘The manner in which some of the large thigh and shank bones of the rhinoceros and other pachyderms are rounded, while some of the smaller bones of the same creatures, and of the hyena, bear, and horse, are reduced to pebbles, shows that they were often transported for some distance in the channels of torrents, before they found a resting-place. Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 49 ** When we desire to reason or speculate on the probable antiquity of human bones found fossil in such situations as the caverns near Liége, there are two classes of evidence to which we may appeal for our guidance. First, considera- tions of the time required to allow of many species of car- nivorous and herbivorous animals, which flourished in the cave period, becoming first scarce, and then so entirely extinct as we have seen that they had become before the era of the Danish peat and Swiss lake dwellings: secondly, the great number of centuries necessary for the conversion of the physical geography of the Liége district from its ancient to its present configuration ; so many old under- ground channels, through which brooks and rivers flowed in the cave period, being now laid dry and choked up. “The great alterations which have taken place in the shape of the valley of the Meuse and some of its tributaries, are often demonstrated by the abrupt manner in which the mouths of fossiliferous caverns open in the face of perpen- dicular precipices, 200 feet or more in height above the pre- sent streams. There appears also, in many cases, to be such a correspondence in the openings of caverns on opposite sides of some of the valleys, both large and small, as to incline one to suspect that they originally belonged to a series of tunnels and galleries, which were continuous before the pre- sent system of drainage came into play, or before the exist- ing valleys were scooped out. Other signs of subsequent fluctuations are afforded by gravel containing elephants’ bones at slight elevations above the Meuse and several of its tributaries. The loess also, in the suburbs and neighbour- hood of Liége, occurring at various heights in patches lying at between 20 and 200 feet above the river, cannot be explained without supposing the filling up and re-excavation of the valleys at a period posterior to the washing in of the animal remains into most of the old caverns. It may be objected that, according to the present rate of change, no lapse of ages would suffice to bring about such revolutions in physical geography as we are here contemplating. This may be true. It is more than probable that the rate of change was once far more active than it is now. Some of the nearest vol- canoes, namely, those of the Lower Eifel about sixty miles NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. I.—JANUARY 1864. G 50 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. to the eastward, seem to have been in eruption in Post- pliocene times, and may perhaps have been connected and coeval with repeated risings or sinkings of the land in the basin of the Meuse. It might be said, with equal truth, that according to the present course of events, no series of ages would suffice to reproduce such an assemblage of cones and craters as those of the Hifel (near Andernach for ex- ample) ; and yet some of them may be of sufficiently modern date to belong to the era when man was contemporary with the mammoth and rhinoceros in the basin of the Meuse. “ But although we may be unable to estimate the mini- mum of time required for the changes in physical geography above alluded to, we cannot fail to perceive that the dura- tion of the period must have been very protracted, and that other ages of comparative inaction may have followed, sepa- rating the Post-pliocene from the historical periods, and constituting an interval no less indefinite in its duration.” * * *K * * * * ‘‘ As the osseous and other contents of Kent’s Hole had, by repeated diggings, been thrown into much confusion, it was thought desirable, in 1858, when the entrance of a new and intact bone-cave was discovered at Brixham, three or four miles west of Torquay, to have a thorough and sys- tematic examination made of it. The Royal Society made two grants towards defraying the expenses,* and a committee of geologists was charged with the investigations, among whom Mr Prestwich and Dr Falconer took an active part, visiting Torquay while the excavations were in progress under the superintendence of Mr Pengelly. The last-men- tioned geologist had the kindness to conduct me through the subterranean galleries after they had been cleared out in 1859; and I saw, in company with Dr Falconer, the numerous fossils which had been taken from the subter- ranean fissures and tunnels, all labelled and numbered, with references to a journal kept during the progress of the work, and in which the geological position of every specimen was recorded with scrupulous care. ‘The discovery of the existence of this suite of caverns * When these grants failed, Miss Burdett Coutts, then residing at Torquay, liberally supplied the funds for completing the work. Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 51 near the sea at Brixham was made accidentally, by the roof of one of them falling in. None of the five external open- ings now exposed to view in steep cliffs or the sloping side of a valley, were visible before the breccia and earthy matter which blocked them up were removed during the late exploration. According to a ground-plan drawn up by Professor Ramsay, it appears that some of the passages which run nearly north and south are fissures connected with the vertical dislocation of the rocks, while another set, running nearly east and west, are tunnels, which have the appearance of having been to a great extent hollowed out by the action of running water. The central or main entrance, leading to what is called the Reindeer gallery, because a perfect antler of that animal was found sticking in the stalagmitic floor, is 95 feet above the level of the sea, being also about 60 above the bottom of the adjoining valley. The united length of the five galleries which were cleared out amounted to several hundred feet. Their width never exceeded 8 feet. They were sometimes filled up to the roof with gravel, bones, and mud; but occasionally there was a considerable space between the roof and floor. The latter, in the case of the fissure-caves, was covered with stalagmite, but in the tunnels it was usually free from any such incrustation. The following was the general succession of the deposits forming the contents of the under- ground passages and channels :-— “Ist, At the top, a layer of stalagmite, varying in thick- ness from 1 to 15 inches, which sometimes contained bones, such as the reindeer’s horn, already mentioned, and an entire humerus of the cave-bear. “ 2dly, Next below, loam or bone-earth, of an ochreous- red colour, from 1 foot to 15 feet in thickness. “3dly, At the bottom of all, gravel with many rounded pebbles in it, probed in some places to the depth of 20 feet without being pierced through, and, as it was barren of fossils, left for the most part unremoved.. ‘The mammalia obtained from the bone-earth consisted of Hlephas primigenius, or maramoth; Rhinoceros tichor- anus ; Ursus spelceus ; Hycena speloca ; Felis spelea, or the cave-lion ; Cervus tarandus, or the reindeer; a species 52 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. of horse, ox, and several rodents, and others not yet deter- mined. ‘““ No human bones were obtained anywhere during these excavations, but many flint knives, chiefly from the lowest part of the bone-earth; and one of the most perfect lay at the depth of 13 feet from the surface, and was covered with bone-earth of that thickness. From a similar position was taken one of those siliceous nuclei, or cores, from which flint flakes had been struck off on every side. Neglecting the less perfect specimens, some of which were met with even in the lowest gravel, about fifteen knives, recognised by the most experienced antiquaries as artificially formed, were taken from the bone-earth, and usually from near the bottom. Such knives, considered apart from the associated mammalia, afford in themselves no safe criterion of anti- quity, as they might belong to any part of the age of stone, similar tools being sometimes met with in tumuli posterior in date to the era of the introduction of bronze. But the anteriority of those at Brixham to the extinct animals is deionstrated not only by the occurrence at one point, in overlying stalagmite, of the bone of a cave-bear, but also by the discovery at the same level in the bone-earth, and in close proximity to a very perfect flint tool, of the entire left hind-leg of a cave-bear. This specimen, which was shown me by Dr Falconer and Mr Pengelly, was exhumed from the earthy deposit in the reindeer gallery, near its junction with the flint-knife gallery, at the distance of about 65 feet from the main entrance. ‘The mass of earth containing it was removed entire, and the matrix cleared away carefully by Dr Falconer, in the presence of Mr Pengelly. Every bone was in its natural place, the femur, tibia, fibula, ankle- bone, or astragalus, all in juxtaposition. Liven the patella or detached bone of the knee-pan was searched for, and not invain. Here, therefore, we have evidence of an entire limb not having been washed in a fossil state out of an older alluvium, and then swept afterwards into a cave, so as to be mingled with flint implements, but having been introduced when clothed with its flesh, or at least when it had the separate bones bound together by their natural ligaments, ‘and in that state buried in mud. Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 53 ‘Tf they were not all of contemporary date, it is clear from this case, and from the humerus of the Ursus speleus, before cited as found in a floor of stalagmite, that the bear lived after the flint tools were manufactured, or in other words, that man in this district preceded the cave-bear.” Multitudes of questions arise out of these observations, and many of them will probably long remain unanswered ; but we may, in the remainder of this article, profitably re- strict ourselves to three of them. 1. What style of men were these contemporaries of the mammoth, as compared with those who now walk the earth ? 2. How great is their antiquity ? 3. What bearing have the conclusions which we must form on these points, on the facts known to us on other evidence than that of geology, as to the origin and early history of man ? The writer of these pages, on a former occasion, ventured to predict that if any osseous remains of antediluvian man should be discovered, they would probably present charac- ters so different from those of modern races that they might be regarded as belonging to a distinct species.* With per- haps one exception, this anticipation has not yet been realized. The skull from the cave of Engis, in Belgium, supposed to be the oldest known, is in the judgment of Professor Huxley, not by any means abnormal, but on the contrary, not unlike some Kuropean skulls. Another skull, that of Neanderthal, not found with remains of extinct animals, and therefore of uncertain geological antiquity, has, however, excited more attention than the Engis skull. Its prehistoric antiquity has been assumed by many writers, and its low forehead, prominent superciliary ridges, and general flatness, giving a more ape-like air than that of the heads of any modern tribes, together with the great stout- ness and strong muscular impressions of the bones found with it, have been regarded as confirmatory evidence of this supposition. It is quite certain, however, that the characters for which this skeleton is eminent, are found, though perhaps in a less degree, in the rude tribes of * Archaia, p. 237. 54 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. America and Australia. It is also doubtful whether this skeleton really indicates a race at all. It may have be- longed to one of those wild men, half crazed, half idiotic, cruel and strong, who are always more or less to be found living on the outskirts of barbarous tribes, and who now and then appear in civilized communities, to be consigned perhaps to the penitentiary or to the gallows, when their murderous propensities manifest themselves. Still, as we shall show under our third head, this Neanderthal man is nearer in some respects to our historical idea of antediluvian man than any other of these very ancient examples; though, as Lyell properly suggests, there is no absolutely valid reason for assuming that he may not even have belonged to the same nation with the Hngis man; since nearly as great differences are found in the skulls of individual members of some unmixed savage races. ' One remarkable conclusion, however, deducible from the answer to this our first question, must not be omitted. Of all the criteria for the distinction of races of men, the skull is probably the most certain, and, as any one may perceive who reads Dr Wilson’s book, it affords, in really reliable hands, the best possible evidence of distinctness or of unity, except where great mixtures have occurred. Now man is one of the most variable animals; and yet it would seem that, since the Post-pliocene period, he has changed so little that the skulls of these Post-pliocene men fall within the limits of modern varieties; and this, while so great changes have occurred that multitudes of mammals, once his con- temporaries, have utterly perished. Now, if these men are so ancient as many geologists would assume, nay, if they are even 6000 years old, surely the human race is very per- manent, and Professor Huxley may well say that ‘the comparatively large cranial capacity of the Neanderthal skull, overlaid though it may be with pithecoid bony walls, and the completely human proportions of the accompanying limb-bones, together with the very fair development of the Engis skull, clearly indicate that the first traces of the primordial stock whence man proceeded need no longer be sought, by those who entertain any form of the doctrine of development, in the newest tertiaries, but that they may Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 50 be looked for in an epoch more distant from the age of the Hlephas primigenius than that is from us.” They may, in short, spare themselves the trouble of looking for any such transition from apes to men in any period ; for this great lapse of time renders the species practically permanent ; more especially when we bear in mind that of the numer- ous species whose remains are found with those of these ancient men, some have continued unchanged up to our time, and the rest have become extinct, while not one can be proved to have been transmuted into another species. Sir Charles devotes no less than five concluding chapters to this doctrine of transmutation, as held by Darwin and others. He does not commit himself to it, but wishes to give it due consideration, as a possible hypothesis, which may at least lead to great truths. We are not disposed to give it quite so high a position. Mr Darwin’s book im- pressed us with the conviction that his hypothesis really explains nothing not otherwise explicable, and requires many assumptions difficult of belief; while the whole argument in its favour is essentially of the nature of reasoning ina circle, The point to be proved is, that vari- ations arising from external influences and “natural selec- tion” may produce specific diversity. Now, in order to begin our proof of this, we require at least one species, with all its powers and properties, to commence with. This being granted, we proceed to show that it may vary into several races, and that these races, if isolated, may be kept distinct and perpetuated. We further proceed to show that these races differ so much, that if wild, and not tampered with, we might suppose them originally distinct. So far all goes well with our demonstration ; but we find that many of the differences of these races are of the nature of mere monstrosities, like the six fingers of some men, which, as far as they go, would exclude the individuals having them, not only from their species, but from their order or class. Further, we find that the differences which do resemble those of species, have not, when tried by the severe test of crossing, that fixity which appertains to true specific differ- ences; so that with due care all our races can be proved to belong to but one species. Thus our whole argument falls 56 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. to the ground; unless we are content quietly to assume the thing to be proved, and to say, that after showing that some species are very variable, we have established a cer- tain probability that they may overpass the specific limits ; though the fact that with all this variability, no species has been known practically to overpass these limits, should logically bring us to the opposite conclusion, viz., that the laborious investigations of Mr Darwin have more than ever established the fixity of species, though they have shown reason to believe that many so-called species are mere _ varieties. Applying this to man, and even admitting, what Sir Charles Lyell very properly declines to admit, that the differences between men and apes are in all respects only differences of degree, and further admitting with Professor Huxley, that the difference between the size of the brain in the highest and lowest races of men is greater than the differences between the latter and the highest apes, nothing would be proved towards the doctrine of transmutation ; for all these variations might occur without the ape ever overleaping the dividing line between it and the man; and the one fact to be proved is that this overleap is possible. Perhaps this question as to man and apes, which some recent transmutationists have started, is one of the most damaging aspects of the doctrine, since it shows better than other cases the essential absurdity of supposing the higher nature to be evolved out of the lower; and thus startles the common sense of ordinary readers, who might detect little that is unreasonable in the transmutation of an oyster into a cockle, or even of a pigeon into a partridge; more espe- cially if the reader or auditor is enabled to perceive the resemblance of type between these creatures, without re- ceiving the further culture necessary to appreciate specific and generic difference, and thus is made ready to believe that similarity of type means something more than similar plan of construction. It is very curious too to observe, that while these theorists seize on occasional instances of degraded individuals in man as evidence of atavism revert- ing to a simian ancestry, they are blind to the similar ex- Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. oT planation which those who hold an opposite view may give to the cases of superior minds appearing in low races, in which the transmutationists can see nothing but spontane- ous elevation. It is also deserving of a passing remark, that while, as Dr Gray shows, the doctrine of transmutation is not subversive of all natural theology—that is, so long as transmutationists admit the presiding agency of a spiritual Supreme Being—the application of such views to the human species attacks leading doctrines of that biblical Chris- tianity which is practically of so much higher importance to man than mere natural theology. Still some of our modern naturalists follow with as much pertinacity these transmutation hypotheses, as did the old alchemists their attempts to transmute chemical species into each other. Perhaps the comparison is hardly fair to the older school of speculators, for chemical species or elements tend by their combination to form new substances, which animal and vegetable species do not; and by so rmauch the balance of autecedent probability was on the side of the alchemists, as compared with the transmutationists, though their methods and doctrines were very similar. We may, however, at least hope that, like the researches of the alchemists, those of their successors may develop new and important truths. Leaving then this much vexed topic, let us proceed to our second inquiry, as to the actual antiquity of these primitive men. This antiquity is of course to be measured by the geologi- cal scale of time, whose periods are marked not by years or centuries, but by the extinction of successive faunas and floras and the progress of physical changes. With respect to the first of these marks of time, we confess that we have not regarded the observations of Boucher de Perthes and others as free from the suspicion that accidental mixtures of human and fossil bones, or other causes not taken into the account, may have vitiated their conclusions; and this suspicion still apples to some of the cases cited by Sir C. Lyell, as more or less certain proofs. After reading the statements of the present volume, we think the Belgian and Brixham caves may be taken as good evidence of the pro- bable contemporaneousness of man with the Elephas primi- NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. I.—JaNuaARY 1864. H 58 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. genius, Lthinoceros tichorhinus, Ursus speleus, and their coutemporaries ; or rather as evidence that man was begin- ning to appear in Western Europe before those animals had finally disappeared. In consequence of some flaws in the evidence, as it appears to a reader at a distance, we cannot as yet so implicitly receive the evidence of the Somme flint weapons. The cave of Aurignac described by M. Lartet, and in which seventeen human skeletons were found buried, apparently in a sitting posture, cannot be relied on, owing to the late period at which it was explored. We are sorry to doubt this unique instance of antediluvian sepulchral rites; but all the appearances actually seen* by M. Lartet are better explicable on the supposition that a cave, once tenanted by the cave-bear and hyena, had been partially emptied of its contents by some primitive tribe, who had broken up the bones of the extinct animals, not for their marrow, but to make tools and ornaments of them, and had subsequently used the cave as a place of burial, and the ground in front of it for “feasts for the dead.” If the bones are still so perfect as M. Lartet asserts, they must have been quite sound when first disturbed at the early historical time in which the cave may have been ransacked. Further, the skeleton of Ursus spelceus found in the interior was below the place of deposit of the human skeletons; and we can suppose it to have been contemporaneous only by the un- likely theory that the earth containing this skeleton was placed in the cave by the aboriginal people. f We give the above leading cases as examples of the rest which are cited, and all of which may in like manner be divided into those which afford probable, though not abso- lutely certain evidence of Post-pliocene man, and those which are liable to too grave suspicion to be accepted as evidence. It may be said that we should be more ready to believe, and less critical, but it is not the wont of geologists to be so, * We refer to M. Lartet’s account of his discovery in the “ Natural History Review,” as well as the more concise statement given in the book before us. j It is certainly very curious that the objects and arrangements of these caves, and other ancient European depositories, are so thoroughly American, even to the round stone-hammers, whose use is so oddly misinterpreted by the Danish antiquaries. Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 59 when new facts and conclusions are promulgated ; and the present case involves too important consequences, both in relation to history, and to the credibility of geological proof in general, to escape the most searching criticism. Geolo- gists must beware lest their science, at the point where it comes into contact with other lines of investigation, and where its own peculiar methods are most hable to err, should be found wanting, and its reliability fall into discredit. But when did the fossil mammals named above really become extinct ? Asa preliminary to our answer to this question, we may state that in Western Kurope, in the Post- pliocene period of geologists, these animals were contem- porary with many still extant, some of them in Europe, others elsewhere. Pictet even maintains that all, or nearly all of our modern Kuropean mammals co-existed with these — animals in the Post-pliocene period, and that consequently there has since that time been a progressive diminution of species down to the present day. The mammoth, Hlephas prumigenius, existed, or perhaps began to exist, at a still more ancient period,—the newer Pliocene ; when it was con- temporary with Hlephas meridionalis, and other animals of an older fauna. It continued to survive until the introduc- tion of the modern mammals, and then became extinct along with Rhinoceros tichorhinus and several other species, which, however, may have been of younger date than it- self. With these species lived the Megaceros Hibernicus, or great Irish stag, which lasted longer, but perished before the dawn of history. With them also lived the Bos primi- genius, or gigantic wild-ox, the aurochs, the musk-ox,and the rein-deer. The first of these existed wild until the time of Cesar; the second is still preserved in a forest in Lithuania ; the third exists now in Arctic America; and the fourth still remains in Lapland. With them also co-existed the wolf, the fox, the hare, the stag, and other creatures still living in Western Europe. That these creatures have been disappearing at different times seems certain ; some may have been exterminated by man, but the greater part must have perished from other causes. They may have gone serzatim, or in considerable numbers at or near the same time; and there seems some 60 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. reason to believe in a considerable and rapid decadence at the end of the Post-phocene and beginning of the recent period. One cause which may be assigned is change of climate. The climate of Kurope in the time of the mammoth was very cold, as indicated by the evidence of glaciers, and other forms of ice action, and by the presence of the musk ox. No doubt the extinction of this creature, and of the mammoth and tichorhine rhinoceros as well, would fol- low from the amelioration in this respect as the recent period approached. This change of climate depended on geographi- cal changes, modifying the distribution of land and water, and the direction of ocean currents. A subsidence in Cen- tral America or in Florida might restore the climate of the mammoth by altering the course of the Gulf-stream ;-and an elevation of land in these regions may have introduced the climate of the recent period. There is abundant evi- dence that much subsidence and elevation did occur while these changes in organic life were in progress; and these may, more directly, by the submergence or elevation of large areas in Europe itself, have tended to extinguish species, or introduce them from other regions. All these points being granted, and abundant evidence of them will be found given by Sir C. Lyell, it remains to ask, can we convert the period required for these changes into solar years? There is but one way of doing this in consistency with the principles of modern geology, and this is to ascertain how long a time would be occupied by agencies now in operation in effecting the changes of elevation, subsidence, erosion, and deposit, observed. Reasoning on this principle, it is plain that a vast lapse of time will be required, and that we may place the earliest men and the latest mammoths at an almost in- credible distance before the oldest historical monuments of the human race. But can we assume any given rate for such changes ? Not certainly till all the causes which may have influenced them can be ascertained and weighed. We have only recently learned that Scotland has risen 25 feet in 1700 years; but we do not know that this elevation has been uniform aud continuous. There is another older sea-level at 44 feet above the present coast ; and there is a still higher Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 61 sea-level 524 feet above the sea, which certainly goes back to the time of the mammoth. Now we may calculate that if an elevation of 25 feet requires 1700 years, an eleva- tion of 500 feet will require twenty times that length of time ; but if we should find, on further investigation, that 10 of the 25 feet were raised in the first century of the seventeen, and that the rate had gradually decreased, our calculation must be quite different, and even then might be altogether incorrect, since there may have been periods of rest or of subsidence ; so that ‘‘ such estimates must be considered in the present state of science as tentative and conjectural.” Again, at the rate in which the Somme, the St. Lawrence, and the Mississippi now cut their channels and deposit alluvium, we can calculate that several tens of thousands of years must have elapsed since the mammoth roamed on their banks ; and we have been accustomed to rest on these calculations as close approximations to the truth: but Sir Charles Lyell has, in his present work, introduced a new and disturbing element, in the strong probability which he establishes that the cold of the glacial period extended to a later time than we have hitherto supposed. If, when the gravels of the Somme were deposited, the chmate was of a sub-arctic character, we have to add to modern eroding causes the influence of frost, greater volume of water, spring freshets, and ice-jams, and the whole calculation of time must be revised. So if it can be proved that when the St. Lawrence began to cut the ravine of Niagara, in the Post- pliocene or New Pliocene period, there were great glaciers in the basin of Lake Superior, all our calculations of time would be completely set at nought. Such are the difficulties which beset the attempt to turn the monumental chronology of geology into years of solar time. The monuments are of undeniable authenticity, and their teachings are most valuable, but they are inscribed with no record of human years; and we think geologists may wisely leave this matter where the Duke of Argyll, in his address to the Royal Society, lately placed it, as a doubt- ful point, in so far as geological evidence is concerned, whether the mammoth lived later than we have hitherto supposed, or man lived earlier. Still, as we have already 62 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. stated, those geologists who hold that we must reason in- flexibly on rates of change indicated by modern causes, will necessarily, on the evidence as it now stands, maintain that the human race, though recent geologically, is of very great antiquity, historically. We must now shortly consider our third question, as to the bearing of these facts and doctrines on our received ~ views of human chronology, derived from the Holy Scrip- tures and the concurrent testimony of ancient monumental and traditional history. It is certain that many good and well-meaning people will, in this respect, view these late revelations of geology with alarm; while those self-com- placent neophytes in biblical learning who array themselves in the cast-off garments of defeated sceptics, and, when treated with the contempt which they deserve, bemoan themselves as the persecuted representatives of free thought, will rejoice over the powerful allies they have acquired. Both parties may however find themselves mistaken. The truth will in the end vindicate itself; and it will be found that the results of such careful scrutiny of nature as that to which naturalists now devote themselves, are not destined to rob our race either of its high and noble descent, or its glorious prospects. In the mean time, those who are the true friends of revealed truth will rejoice to give free scope to legitimate scientific investigation, trusting that every new difficulty will disappear with increasing light. The biblical chronology, though it allows an unlimited time for the prehuman periods of the earth’s history, fixes the human period within narrow limits, though it does this not by absolute statement of figures, but rather by infer- ence from chronological lists, with respect to the computa- tion of which there may be and has been some difference, especially in the antediluvian period. Allowing large lati- tude for these differences, we have, say 2000 to 3000 years for the human antediluvian period, corresponding, it is to be supposed, to the later Post-pliocene of geologists. In this period men may have extended themselves over most of the old continent; and it has been calculated that they may have been nearly as numerous as at present, but this is probably an exaggeration. They had, locally at least, Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. 63 domesticated animals; they had discovered the use of the metals, and invented many useful arts, though there must have been a vast, scattered, barbarous population. They had split into two distinct races, some portions of which at least had sunk to a state presumably lower than that of any modern tribe, since these latter are all amenable to the influences of civilisation and Christianity, while the former seem to have been hopelessly depraved and degenerate. At the same time they had much energy for aggression and violence ; and it would seem that these giants of the olden time were in process of extinguishing all of the civilisation of the period when they were overwhelmed with the deluge. This is described in terms which may indicate a great sub- sidence, of which the Noachian deluge was the culminating point, in so far as Western Asia was concerned. ‘The sub- sidence, unless wholly miraculous, may have commenced at least at the beginning of the 120 years of Noah’s public life, and: possibly much earlier, and the re-elevation may lave occupied many centuries, and may not have left the distribution of land and water, and consequently climate, in the same state as before. At a very early period of this subsidence, if there were men in Europe, they would be perfectly isolated from the original seats of population in Asia, and so would the land animals, their contemporaries. There is, further, nothing in the Mosaic account to prevent us from supposing that the existence of many species was terminated by this great catastrophe.* These are some of the conditions of the biblical deluge, which we might much further illustrate, were this a proper place for doing so, but those stated will suffice to show precisely in what points the new doctrines of geologists in regard to the antiquity of man appear to conflict with this old narrative. When we carefully consider the geological facts, in so far as they have been ascertained, it seems to us that the discrepancy may be stated thus. Reasoning on the geo- logical doctrine that all things are to be explained by mo- dern causes, and insisting on a rigid application of that doctrine, we must infer that the date of the introduction of * See “ Archaia,”’ pp. 216 et seg., and pp. 288 et seg. ; King’s “Geology and Religion, ” “ Deluge.” . 64 Dr J. W. Dawson on the Antiquity of Man. man was “many ten thousands of years” ago. Adopting the biblical theory, so to speak, that a great subsidence, of which modern history affords no example, has occurred within the human period, we might adopt a very much shorter chronology. It would seem at present that the facts can be explained on either view, and that the possi- bility of reconciling these views must depend on the greater or less evidence which geologists may find of more rapid changes than they have heretofore supposed within the human period. Our own impression, derived from a careful study of all the facts so well stated by Sir C. Lyell, is, that the tendency will be in this direction, that the apparent antiquity of the comparatively insignificant deposits con- taining remains of man and his works will be reduced, and that a more complete harmony than heretofore between the earliest literary monuments of the human race and geo- logical chronology will result. At present the whole in- quiry is making rapid progress, and the time may perhaps be not far distant when its difficulties will receive some such solution. In the meantime, both of the writers whose works are noticed in this article deserve careful study, and will be found to contribute much toward the solution of these great questions. The Observed Motions of the Companion of Sirius con- sidered with Reference to the Disturbing Body indicated by Theory. By T. H. Sarrorp, Assistant at the Ob- servatory of Harvard College. Communicated by the Author.* It is well known to astronomers that the motions of the bright star Sirius indicated the presence ot a disturbing body, before the discovery of a companion by Mr Alvan Clark. It was shown by Bessel,j that there were irregu- larities in the motion of this star in right ascension which were ouly to be explained by the presence of an unseen * From the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. vi. t+ Astronomische Nachrichten, Nos. 514-516. On the Observed Motions of the Companion of Sirius. 68 companion, unless, indeed, we might permit ourselves to doubt the universality of the law of gravitation. C. A. F. Peters,* some years later, computed such of the elements of the motion of Sirius around the centre of gravity of the system as could be deduced from the motions in right as- cension ; and Schubert} pointed out that there was some reason to believe that the motion in declination also was irregular, though he seems to have fallen into the error of supposing that the motions in right ascension and declina- tion were not completed in the same period. Afterwards M. Laugier,t of the French Institute, repre- sented the observations of Sirius in declination from 1690 to 1852 by a formula of interpolation which I fear we must consider erroneous. Laugier gives a certain weight to Flamsteed’s position from the “‘ Historia Coelestis Britannica,” which is known to have been reduced (and probably from a single observation), without regard to aberration or nuta- tion; so that it cannot be depended upon within 15”, while the real irregularities of Sirius’s motion in declination are less than 2”, Calandrelh,§ Director of the Pontifical Observatory || at Rome, has in several places insisted that the Greenwich Twelve-Year Catalogue was in error by about 3” for the date 1845. This, however, was shown by Main § to be contradicted by the several years’ work, and I presume most astronomers would agree in considering Calandrell’s argu- ment as irrelevant. In No. 28 of Professor Brunnow’s valuable “ Astrono- mical Notices,” I have shown that, in spite of the misap- prehensions to which I have just alluded, the observed motion of Sirius in declination is in fact represented by a formula depending on the previous investigation of Peters, but with four new unknown quantities inserted. The ad- * Astronomische Nachrichten, Nos. 745-747. t+ Astronomical Journal, vol. i. p. 154. t Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 1142. @ Atti dell’ Accademia Pontificia de’ Nuovi Lincei, 5 Aprile, 1853, p. 316, and elsewhere. || This is not to be confounded with the observatory of the Collegio Romano. { Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society vol. xx. p. 202. NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO, IL.—JANUARY 1864. I 66 Mr T. H. Safford on the Observed Motions dition of these four quantities, which I have determined by least squares, enables us to state with a certain degree of accuracy the angle of position of the centre of gravity with respect to the visible mass, and thus the angle of position of the supposed invisible companion. Closely following the actual publication * of this memoir, came the discovery + of the companion by Mr Clark. The question at once arose, whether this were the disturbing body ; the evidence bearing upon this appeared very note- worthy. In the first place, the angle of position agreed (within the uncertainty of observation) with that computed for the disturbing body, assuming my investigation { as the basis. The following table shows the relation for 1862 between computation and observation. To my own com- putation I have added the similar one of Auwers, published afterwards.§ Computed by Auwers, 18621 97:3 : Safford, 18621 83:8 Holes eunin: tion 1°:4) Observed by Bond,]|| 1862:2 84:6 ; Chacornac,{ 1862:2 84:6 he Lassell,** 1862°3 63°8 5 Rutherfurd, ++ 1862-2 85:0 The difference between Dr Auwers’s theoretical investi- gation and my own is perhaps not larger than the uncer- tainty of all the series of observations on Sirius would ex- plain ; as I have before stated, the amount of deviation from which the angle of position was computed is very small. But that the companion of Sirius may produce the dis- turbances, it—the faint object barely visible in the largest class of telescopes—must have a mass nearly two-thirds that * The number bears date Dec. 20, 1861; my own communication, Sept. 20th. + Jan. 31, 1862. First announced by Professor Bond, in No. 1858 of the Astronomische Nachrichten. t This fact was stated by Professor Bond (American Journal of Science for March 1862, p. 287). 9 Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 1871. It is proper for me here to ex- | press my sense of the courtesy with which Dr Auwers admitted my priority in the matter. | Astr. Nachr., No. 1374. { Ibid. No. 1355. ** Thid. No. 1360. tt American Journal of Science, May 1863, p. 407. of the Companion of Sirtus. 67 of Sirius itself. It is difficult to believe this; but, as the evidence of this year (1863) shows, we may be compelled to do so. There are three hypotheses logically possible with respect to the new star. It may be either unconnected with the system of Sirius; or, secondly, a satellite, but not the dis- turbing body; or, thirdly, the disturbing body itself. On the first hypothesis, the proper motion of Sirius itself would put it in the following position, assuming the angle of posi- tion 84°°5, for 1862°2, and distance 10:19 for the same date, the latter being the mean of these results (excluding Lassell’s 4°92, which is quite wrong). 10°09 Rutherfurd.* 10°07 Bond.t 10-41 Chacornac,t Position and Distance by Hypothesis I.; assuming the little star to be fixed. 1863-0 79:1 10°80 1864:0 73:3 11:69 The second hypothesis gives no ground for calculation, and it will be considered further on. The third hypothesis would give (correcting my own in- vestigation, so as to agree in 1862°2 with observation, by +0°°9). 1863-0 83-5 1864:0 82:1 Observation gives, compared with these hypotheses, 1863-2 Bond § 82:8 Hyp. 77-4 Hyp. Ill. 831 1863:2 Rutherfurd,|| 81:2 77:9 83°2 Computed — Observed. Ihe iD fe Bond, — 5-4 40:3 Rutherfurd, —3'3 +20 - * American Journal of Science for May 1863, p. 407. + Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 1374. { Ibid. No. 1855. -§ MS. furnished by Professor Bond. || As before, American Journal of Science for May 1868, p. 407. 68 On the Observed Motions of the Companion of Sirius. To which must be added, that the first hypothesis requires an increase of distance between 1862°2 and 1863°2 of 0"8; the third, a very slight diminution ; but observation indi- cates a diminution of about 0°55, a quantity, to use Mr Rutherfurd’s expression,* so small that its existence cannot be asserted with confidence.” It is hardly conceivable that the long and careful series of observations of Mr Rutherfurd should be in error 3°°3 ; and also inconceivable that Professor Bond’s measures, agreeing as they do within 2° 20’ among themselves, should be in the mean 5°°4 erroneous. We have therefore nothing to oppose to the hypothesis that the new companion is the disturbing body, but the very improbable supposition that the small star partakes very nearly in the great proper motion of Sirius without physical connection ; or the second hypothesis, that the new star is in the system, but with small mass. If this is the case, the disturbing body must, in lieu of the small heht of the companion, have still less, or even be absolutely mvisible. Lt 1s consequently highly probable that the disturbing body has been actually found ; that what was predicted by theory has been conjirmed by sight. The importance of continued obser- vations on Sirius cannot be too highly felt. The companion must be measured the coming year, and for several years ; while Sirius itself should be re-observed with meridian in- struments. So far as the right ascension element is con- cerned, a series of observations is now in progress at Cam- bridge; while Captain Gilliss has most obligingly consented to make a series of declination-observations at Washington ; and the standard observatories at Greenwich and Paris will doubtless continue their series of fundamental star observa- tions, including, of course, Sirius. IT am much obliged to Mr Rutherfurd for the communica- tion of the details of his observations in 18638, and hope he will publish them, together with similar details of those of 1862, and others to be made hereafter. The subject is one where the co-operation of several observers is desirable. Full certainty here can only be obtained after several years’ observations. * As before, American Journal of Science for May 1868, p. 407. Notes on the Fertilisation of Orchids. By Witu1aM RutTHER- FoRD, M.D., President of the Royal Medical Society, Resident Physician Royal Infirmary. (Being a portion of a thesis, for which a gold medal was awarded by the Medical Faculty of the University of Edinburgh at the Graduation in 1863.)* Mr Darwin, in the introduction to his admirable work on “The Fertilisation of Orchids,” states, that his chief reason for writing the work was, “to show that the contrivances by which orchids are fertilised, have for their main object the fertilisation of each flower by the pollen of another flower ;” and to show that, in his “ Origin of Species,” he had good grounds for expressing his belief in what he re- ° gards as an apparently universal law—viz., ‘‘ That no her- maphrodite fertilises itself for a perpetuity of generations, an occasional cross with another individual being required.” He, moreover, expresses the hope, that his researches may stimulate others to inquire into the habits of our native species. During the past summer (1862), [ spent some time in the examination of a considerable number of orchids, with a view to ascertain whether or not Mr Darwin’s observations . were accurate, and the conclusions at which he had arrived correct. The points which I especially wished to test, were, lst, Is insect agency essential for their fertilisation ? 2d, Is a flower fertilised by its own pollinia, or by those of other flowers? As regards the first of these, Mr Darwin says, that in every orchis, with the exception of the bee orchis and Cephalanthera grandiflora, insects are required to re- move the pollinia, and apply them to the stigma; and with regard to the second point, he says,—that although in some cases the pollinia may be applied to the stigma of the flower from which they are taken, yet in all they may be—and most generally they are—applied to the stigmas of other flowers ; farther, in some flowers—the marsh Epipactis, for * Read before the Botanical Society November 12, 1863. 70 Dr W. Rutherford on the Fertilisation of Orchids. example—the pollinia are removed only when the insect retires from the flower. Sprengel, in 1795, and Robert Brown, in 1833, though the latter was not without his doubts on the subject, both expressed their belief in the necessity for insect agency ; and many others have concurred with the opinion; but Darwin was the first to show that the necessity for insects, which was previously considered to be confined to a few, is almost universal. My observations, so far-as they have ex- tended, have most thoroughly convinced me of the truth of Mr Darwin’s statement. But I must here mention, to prevent any misunderstanding, that I have examined four species only,—for the district in which I resided contained only these four species, although they were severally repre- sented by large numbers of individuals, so that I was able to make a pretty thorough examination of each species. I was staying in a part of Kent where Orchis maculata and Cephalanthera grandiflora were especially abundant; and Gymnadenia conopsea, and Orchis pyramidalis, to a lesser degree. JI examined 1175 flowers of Cephalanthera, 1000 of Orchis maculata, 244 of Gymnadenia conopsea, and 60 of Orchis pyramidalis, in all 2479 flowers. This number may seem very large; but it must be remembered, that the flowers grew abundantly in the locality; and I had but little diffi- culty in procuring them. All the plants grew near, or in, woods, so that they were most favourably situated for visi- tation by insects. Mr Darwin says, that on one occasion only has he seen an insect capable of carrying away the pol- linia visit an Orchis. J have been more fortunate; for I have repeatedly observed, especially on warm, cloudy days, lepidopterous insects paying their visits ; and on one occa- sion I actually saw an insect remove the pollinia. Al- though Mr Darwin thinks that an insect does not confine its visitations to one particular species, but embraces several ,— an opinion which he has shown to be true in the case of some one or two insects,—I must say that Orchis maculata and Cephalanthera grandiflora, although growing together, were visited by totally distinct insects, and either species was only visited by one kind of insect. This fact is certain regarding the fertilisation of three Dr W. Rutherford on the Fertilisation of Orchids. 71 out of these four species,—self-fertilisation 1s tmpossible,— the pollinia must be removed from the flower and appiied to the stigma of either the same or another flower. In by far the greater majority of the flowers, the pollinia, where these were single, were both removed, and in only a few of these were the ovaries non-fertilised. Sometimes I found the heads of pollinia sticking to the stigmas: this was rare, how- ever; more frequently I found bundles broken off from the pollinia adhering to the stigma, and in some of these in- stances the pollinia remained in the same flower untouched, showing conclusively, that these flowers had been fertilised by the pollinia of other flowers. The flowers] examined were generally old, with the viscid discs and stigmas quite dry, so that no farther change could take place in the fertilisation of such flowers. Out of 1804 flowers, 953 had both pollinia removed, of which 895 were fertile and 58 were non-fertile. From this it appears, that although the pollinia may have been removed from the flowers, these were sometimes non- fertile. This is, because the insect has carried away the pollinia without pushing them against the stigma, and be- cause the flowers have never been visited by insects having pollinia on their probosces. If such flowers could ever have become fertilised (most were old), it must have been by the pollinia of other flowers. In 212, both pollinia were still remaining, although the flowers were mostly dry and shrivelled. Of these 119 were fertile, and 96 were non-fertile, so that although these flowers are incapable of self-fertilisation, the flowers are oftener fer-_ tilised than not. Insects with pollinia attached to their pro- bosces visited the flowers and fertilised them, although they did not remove the pollinia. Had the flowers grown in a less wooded district, where insects are more scarce, many more of them would have had both pollinia remaining, and fewer of these would have been fertilised. Observe (see the Table at the end) how different is the case of Cephalanthera grandiflora, which is capable of self-fertilisation, although to a small degree: only 39 out of 1175 flowers had both pollinia remaining, and these, nevertheless, were all fertile; while of the 1128 which had both pollinia removed, only 8 were non- fertile. In the two other species which had the pollinia 72 Dr W. Rutherford on the Fertilisation of Orchids. separate, that is, unattached at the base to one another, the right pollinium was removed rather oftener than the left, a fact which would be difficult to explain. Of the 166 flowers which had only one pollinium removed, 142 were fertile and 24 non-fertile, showing that where only one pollinium is re- moved, the flower is not so certainly fertilised ; in short, the insects have not visited them so frequently. It is unnecessary for me to comment further upon the following Table, but I may shortly state, that it fully bears out Mr Darwin’s conclusions ; it establishes nothing new, but simply places beyond doubt very important opinions advanced by Darwin, among which the following are the most important :—l1sé, Insect agency is necessary for ferti- lisation ; 2d, Crossing of the individuals of a species is not only permitted, but all the arrangements seem especially adapted to bring about such a result. One would suppose that hybrids ought to be very com- mon if Mr Darwin’s opinion were correct,—that one insect visits several species of orchids,—while it is well known that orchidaceous hybrids are extremely rare. From all that I have observed, I believe it to be the rule that each species has its special visitor, and that the same insect visits several species, to be the exception. I dare not, however, speak too positively on this point, for my observations have not been extensive. Finally, it may seem superfluous for me to draw attention to the beautiful and laborious investigations contained in Mr Darwin’s work on orchids; but only those who have carried on such researches are able to estimate the severe and prolonged labour which they entail. f Orchids. 73 won O Dr W. Rutherford on the Fertilisat SC eee ‘soseq ano ‘ elopipursd i1ey} Aq LeyJOUR ONO OF poYoLyye VIUIT[OT 8 ert N 68 G41 eiloyyuryeyday | ed 66 626 C1S | ss | eS | eee eee ‘SIVE fi, eo | SOT gg 8g 668 96 6IL | #F0ST a ‘soseq step iraq} Aq Loyjoue ouo 0} poyoriye BIUIT[Og G ve 66 oa 09 | -tmevrid stor vosdouos v af L 0€ 6 96 66 $¢ VIG { eruepeumio “sunok “sunok “sunok osoyy JO CL eso} JO ZL | ose jo Zz RIP] OL tT g 6S LY G92 86 OS O00T ! -novut sTyo1Q ‘O[IAOJ-TONT| “OTTO |'O[oJ-UON | “opto «|| “O[MAOJ-UoNT] = “OTTO || “OTTJAOJ-uON | = “OT T4407 i Re a ee Satan pies Dre he ee ee ee | OUTUIE RS WOT UL ‘WONT CLL SIOMOTT JO “ICY N *‘peAOMEL VIUIT[Og YJog |/sururewmoer eruryjog yjoq|| TOUZUN *POAOTLOL WINIUITJOT ouQ xd NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. IL—JANUARY 1864. 14 Remains of Birds’ Eggs found at Fisherton, near Salisbury. By H. P. Buacxmore, M.D., Salisbury. Communicated by Sir Witiiam JaRpINE, Bart. In * The Geologist” for October last, Mr Blackmore of Salisbury, while giving a list of the fossil mammalia and flint instruments obtained in the Pleistocene districts of Fisherton, near Salisbury, states—‘‘ Although you ask no information with regard to birds, it may be interesting to some of your readers to know that fragments of such fragile things as birds’ eggs have been obtained from the same deposits; one in point of size and thickness of shell would correspond, if entire, to that of a goose, the other to that of a moor hen.” This being the first record, we believe, of the remains of eggs having been found with those of the lower animals and others of like time, attracted our atten- tion, and in reply to our inquiry Mr Blackmore has kindly sent the following particulars to Mrs Strickland :— ‘* Both fragments of egg-shells are in my possession ; the larger of the two, which I think is probably part of the egg of Grey-Lag Wild Goose, was found in March 1861, by work- men digging brick earth in Mr Baker's pit. The clay, sand, and gravel in this pit are slightly stratified, and at one point are nearly 30 feet in thickness. The shell was found about 14 feet below the surface, the soil above having evidently never been disturbed. Within a few feet of the spot where the shell was discovered the men found two small bones, one the coracoid, and the other about the upper three- fourths of the femur of a species of Anser, corresponding in size with similar bones of the Grey-lag. The shell itself is stained of a pale fawn colour, and both upon the in and out- side has many small superficially raised incrustations ; hence I infer that the shell must have been already broken when embedded in the clay. ‘Since writing to ‘ The Geologist, I have joined the frag- ments of the smaller egg more perfectly together, and find, from the small size of the fragments, I formed an erroneous opinion of the size of the egg. The restored fragments I have carefully compared with a collection of recent British Mr Blackmore on the Remains of Birds’ Eggs. TO eggs, and find them both in texture and size to correspond closely with the eggs of the Common Wild Duck. In colour the shell is rather darker than the larger one, but is in parts similarly incrusted both inside and out. This was found in Mr Harding’s pit in November 1862, about 20 feet below the surface, in undisturbed clay. No bones accompanied this specimen,” 1. On Parallel Relations of the Classes of Vertebrates, and on some Characteristics of the Reptilian Birds. Il. The Classification of Animals based on the Principle of Cephalization. No. I. By James D. Dana. Communi- cated by the Author.* I. On certain parallel relations between the classes of Vertebrates, and on the bearing of these relations on the question of the dis- tinctive features of the Reptilian Birds. At the close of an article by Professor Hitchcock, a portion of a letter of the writer is quoted, in which a parallelism is drawn between the Odtocoid or semi-oviparous Mammals (Marsupials and Monotremes), the Ichthyoid Reptiles (Amphibians of De Blain- ville, Batrachians of many authors), and the Reptilian Birds. The general fact of this parallelism throws light on (1.) the classifica- tion of Mammals, (2.) the distinctive features of the Reptilian birds, and (3.) the geological progress of life. 1. Classification.—The Amphibians are made by many zoolo- gists an independent class of Vertebrates, on the ground of the fish-like characteristics of their young. The same systematists, however, leave the Marsupials in the class of Mammals, notwith- standing their divergencies from that type. The number of classes of Vertebrates, usually regarded as four, thus becomes five, namely, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fishes. There are some indications that this number will soon be further increased by some zoologists, through the making of another class out os the Reptilian Birds. The discovery of the Reptilan Birds has brought the peuerhi law to view, that, among the four classes of Vertebrates, or dinaril y * From the American Journal of Science and Arts, vol. xxxvi., Nov. 18638. + Professor Agassiz, in vol. i. of his ‘‘ Contributions to the Natural History of the United States,” page 187, subdivides Fishes into four classes, namely, 1. Myzonts ; 2. Fishes proper, or Teliosts (Ctenoids and Cycloids) ; 3. Ganoids ; 4. Selachians ; which would make the total number of classes of Vertebrates nine. 76 On Parallel Relations of the Classes of Vertebrates, received, each, excepting the lowest, consists of, first a grand typical division, embracing the majority of its species, and secondly, an inferior or hemitypic division, intermediate between the typical and the class or classes below. Before proceeding with our illustrations of this point, a word may be added in behalf of these four classes. In order to appre- ciate their true value, it is necessary to have in viea the type-idea which is the basis of the fundamental characteristics of each, and which is connected with the existence of three distinct habitats for life—the water, the air, and the land: that in Fishes, this idea is that of swimming aquatic life; in Reptiles, that of creeping terrestrial life; in Birds, that of flying aérial life; in Mammals, that of terrestrial life, again, but in connection with a higher grade of structure, the Mammalian. The type-idea is expressed in the adults both of the typical and hemitypic groups; and any attempt to elevate the hemitypic into a separate class tends to obscure these ideal relations of the groups in the natural system of Verte- brates. The following are the illustrations of the law above mentioned. (1.) In the classification of Vertebrates, Mammals, the first class, are followed by birds, as the second; and while the former are viviparous, the latter are, without exception, oviparous. The species of the inferior or hemitypic group of Mammals, partake, therefore, in some degree, of an oviparous nature, as the term semi- oviparous or Odtocoid implies. In fact, all Vertebrates, excepting Mammals, are typically ovi- parous, although some cases of viviparous birth occur among both Reptiles and Fishes. In the viviparous Mammals, the embryo, during its development, derives nutriment directly from the body of the parent until birth, and also for a time after birth; while in the viviparous Fish, the Selachians excepted, there is simply a development of the egg internally, in the same manner essentially as when it takes place externally. Applying, then, the term ovi- parous to all cases in which the embryo is shut off from any kind of placental nutrition, Reptiles and Fishes, with the exception mentioned, are as essentially oviparous as Birds, Hence, the Odtocoids or non-typical Mammals are actually intermediate in this respect, and in others also, between the typical Mammals, on one side, and the inferior oviparous Vertebrates collectively, on the other. (2.) Again, the class next below Birds is that of Reptiles. And, correspondingly, the inferior or hemitypic group of Birds is Reptilian in some points of structure. (3.) Again, the class next below Reptiles is that of Fishes ; and therefore the inferior or hemitypic group of Reptiles is the intermediate or Ichthyoid one of Amphibians—the young of frogs and on some Characteristics of the Reptilian Birds. 77 and salamanders and other included species having gills like fishes, besides some additional fish-like peculiarities. The parallelism between the three classes, Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles, is thus complete. (4.) Fishes have no class of Vertebrates below them, so that an inferior hemitypic division is not to be looked for. It might be suspected that the intermediate group in this case would be one between Fishes and the lower sub-kingdoms either of Mollusks or of Articulates; but none such exists. The lowest fish, an Amphioxus, is as distinctly a Vertebrate as the highest, and no Mollusk or Articulate exhibits any transition towards a vertebrate structure. There are, however, hemitypic Fishes ; but their place is towards the top of the class instead of at its bottom. Ganoids constitute one group of this kind, between Fishes and Reptiles, as long since pointed out by Agassiz. Again, Selachians (or Sharks and Rays) constitute another, between Fishes and the higher classes of Ver- tebrates. This last idea also has, we believe, been suggested by Agassiz (although we cannot refer to the place where published), this author regarding the species as intermediate in character be- tween Fishes and the allantoidian Vertebrates. Moreover, Miller long ago observed the relation of the Sharks to the Mammals in having a vitelline placenta, by which the embryo draws nutriment from the parent, as does the mammalian foetus by means of its allantoidian placenta. Ganoids and Selachians are thus two hemitypic groups in the class of Fishes. The scheme of grand divisions is then as follows :— * | i A. Typical Mammals, B. Hemitypic Mammals, or OGTOCOIDS. II. III. A. Typical Birds. A. Typical or true Reptiles. B. Hemitypic Birds, B. Hemitypic Reptiles, or ERPETOIDS. or AMPHIBIANS. IV. A. Hemitypic Fishes, B, Hemitypic Fishes, or SELACHIANS. or GANOIDS, C. Typical Fishes, or Teliosts. One of the groups of hemitypic Fishes looks directly towards * It is here seen that the term Ostocoid, applied to Marsupials and Mono- tremes has great significance; and so likewise, Hrpetords and Amphibians. Ootocoid is siinply the Greek form of the term semi-oviparous. 78 On Parallel Relations of the Classes of Vertebrates, Reptiles, and the other towards the three higher classes of Verte- brates collectively, but especially Mammals and Birds. It is plain from the preceding that the sub-kingdom of Verte- brates, instead of tailing off into the Invertebrates, has well pro- nounced limits below, and is complete within itself. 2. Distinctive Features of the Reptilian Division of Birds.—The skeleton of the fossil Bird, discovered at Solenhofen, has some decided Reptilian peculiarities, as pointed out by Wagner, Owen, and others. But even if perfect, it could not indicate all the Reptilian features present in the living animal. It is therefore a question of interest, whether the relations of the hemitypic to the typical species in the two classes Mammals and Reptiles— one superior to that of Birds, and the other inferior—afford any basis for conclusions with regard to characteristics of the hemi- typic Birds undiscoverable by direct observation. The following considerations, suggested by analogies from the classes just men- tioned, may be regarded as leading to unsatisfactory results ; and yet they deserve attention. A. Mammals.—(1.) It is a fact to be observed that the hemi- typic Mammals are as truly and thoroughly Mammalian, as regards the fundamental characteristic of the type—the suckling of their young—as the typical species. 2.) The departure from the typical Mammals is small in the adult individuals, especially the adult males. But it 1s profoundly marked in their young, they thus approximating in period of birth and some other respects to oviparous Vertebrates. B. Reptiles.—(1.) The adult Amphibians, or hemitypic Reptiles, depart but little from the typical Reptiles, either in structure or habits. : But (2.) the young, in their successive stages, from the egg upward, partake strikingly of characters of the inferior class of Fishes. ) The law seems, then, to be, that the species of the hemitypic group have their principal or most fundamental resemblance to those of the class or classes below in the young state. We should hence conclude that the young of the Reptilian Birds or Erpetoids possessed more decided Reptilian peculiarities than the adults.— What these unknown peculiarities, if real, were, we can infer only doubtingly from the analogies of the known cases already considered. The characteristic of the intermediate type, on which the in- termediate character depends, is, in the case of both Mammals and Reptiles, that particular one which is the special distinction of the inferior type. The types inferior to Mammals are oviparous, and heuce the hemitypic Mammals are semi-oviparous, The type and on some Characteristics of the Reptilian Birds. 79 inferior to Reptiles, or that of Fishes, is distinctively aquatic and breathes consequently by means of gills instead of lungs, and hence the hemitypic Reptiles have gills in the young state. What then are the characteristics of Reptiles that may have been presented by the inferior or hemitypic Birds? The more prominent distinctions of Reptiles are the following :— (1.) A covering of scales, or else a naked skin, instead of a covering of feathers. (2.) A terrestrial creeping mode of life instead of an aerial or flying mode. (3.) Incomplete circulation, and hence, to some degree, cold- blooded, instead of complete and warm-blooded. Now, as to the young of the Reptilian Birds, it may be inferred that— (1.) They were unquestionably unfledged. For this is universal among birds, for a while after leaving the egg. It is quite pro- bable, that they were more completely unfledged, or for a longer time, than is common for the young of ordinary birds ; for even the adult bird, judging from the Solenhofen specimen, was less completely feathered than usual. (2.) They were unquestionably walking chicks. For Birds in the lower division of the class (Precoces of Bonaparte) have the use of their legs immediately after leaving the egg, and seek their own food. A brood of Reptilian bird-chicks, with long tails and nearly uaked bodies, creeping over the ground, would have looked exceedingly like young Reptiles—very much, indeed, as if the eggs of a Reptile had been hatched by mistake. Moreover, these Reptilian Birds were probably not only walking birds when young, but as much so as hens and turkeys are, if not more exclusively so, even when adults; for, in the inferior division of ordinary birds, the species are far inferior as flying animals to those of the superior division, and in some, as is well known, the wings only aid in running. (3.) But the characteristics which have been mentioned under (1) and (2) are not of fundamental value, like that of the exist- ence of gills in the young of hemitypic Reptiles, or that of the semi-oviparous method of reproduction in Odtocoid Mammals ; and it would seem that there must have been some more pro- found Repitilian characteristic. It is therefore probable that the third distinction of Reptiles stated belonged also to the young Reptilian Bird; that is, it had incomplete circulation, and hence, an approximation to the cold-blooded condition of Reptiles. The heart may have had its four cavities complete, as in Birds, and in Crocodiles among Reptiles; but, in addition, there may have been a passage permitting a partial admixture of the venous and arterial blood, such as exists not only in Crocodiles but also in 80 On Parallel Relations of the Classes of Vertebrates, the young Bird during an early stage in its development. This peculiarity in the vascular system of the young Bird of the pre- sent day ceases with the beginning of respiration. But in the Reptilian birds it may have continued on through the early part, at least, of the life of the chick, or until it was fledged. This conclusion is made to appear still more reasonable by the following comparison of the three obvious methods of subdividing Vertebrates, and the connection therewith of the characteristics of the hemitypic groups. These three methods are— 1. Into viviparous and oviparous; which places the dividing line between Mammals, and the inferior Vertebrates. 2. Into warm-blooded and cold-blooded, or those having perfect, and those having imperfect, circulation; which places the line between Mammals and Birds, on one side, and Reptiles and Fishes, on the other. 3. Into pulmonate and branchial, or those with lungs, and those with gills ; which places the line between Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles, on one side, and Fishes on the other. Now the characteristic of the first of these methods of sub- division is that on which the hemitypic group of the first class, or that of Mammals, is based. The characteristic of the third is that on which the hemitypic group of the third class, or the Reptilian, is based. Hence, the characteristic of the second should be, if the analogy holds, that on which the hemitypic group of the second class, or that of Birds, rests for its most fundamental distinction. 3. Geological History.—It has been observed, on page 78, that the Vertebrate sub-kingdom has well-drawn limits below, instead of tapering downward into Mollusks or Articulates. This feature of the sub-kingdom is further evident from the fact in geological history that the earliest species of Fishes were not of the lower group, that of Teliosts, but of the two higher, or those of Ganoids and Selachians. The Vertebrate type did not originate, therefore, in the sub-kingdom of Mollusks, or of Articulates ; neither did it start from what might be considered as its base, that is, the lower limit of the class of Fishes; but in intermediate types, occupying a point between typical Fishes and the classes above. Moreover, the inferior group did not come into existence until the Cretaceous period, in the latter part of geological history, when the Reptilian age was commencing its decline. In the Devonian age, or closing Silurian, appeared the first Ganoids and Selachians. In the Carboniferous, Reptiles were introduced,—first, the inferior Amphibians, and then typical species. Afterward, in the early part of the Reptilian age, as Reptilian life was in course of expansion, there were the first of and on some Characteristics of the Reptilian Birds. 81 the Reptilian Birds and the first of the Marsupials or hemitypic Mammals (with probably some typical species of each of these classes), Thus the Vertebrate type, commencing at the point of approximation of Reptiles and Fishes, expanded until each of its higher classes had representative species, before the inferior division of true or typical fishes—Teliosts—came into existence. After- wards, in the Cenozoic, the true or typical Birds and Mammals had their full expansion. The Vertebrate type, therefore, not only was not evolved along lines leading up from the lower sub-kingdoms, but was not, as regards its own species, brought out in lineal order from the lowest upward. The sub- ened has therefore most evidently oe and a roundness below, so to speak, or an entire- ness in its inferior limits, which belongs only to an independent system. We find in the facts no support for the Darwinian hypothesis with regard to the origin of the system of life, II. The Classification of Animals based on the principle of Cephahzation, Wo VE As the principle of cephalization is involved in the very foun- dation of the diverse forms that make up the Animal Kingdom, we may look to it for authoritative guidance with reference to the system that prevails among those forms. Some of its bearings on zoological classification have already been pointed out.* I pro- pose to take up the subject more comprehensively; and, in the present article, to bring the light of the principle to bear on the relations of the Sub-kingdoms, Classes, Orders, and some of the tribes of animal life. It is essential, first, that the methods or laws of cephalization be systematically set forth, that they may be conveniently studied and compared. The following statement of them is an extension of what has already been presented :— As an animal is a cephalized organism (or one terminating an- teriorly in a head), the anterior and posterior extremities have opposite relations. The subdivision of the structure into anterior and posterior portions has therefore a special importance in this connection. As these terms are used beyond, the anterior por- tion properly includes the head, which is the seat of the senses and mouth, with whatever organs are tributary to its purposes, * Expl. Exp. Report on Crustacea, p. 1412, 1855: Amer. Jour. of Science and Arts [2], xxii, 14, 1856; xxxv. 67, xxxvi. 1, 1863. NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. I.—JANUARY 1864. 16 82 On the Classification of Animals anterior in position to the normal locomotive organs; the poste- rior portion is the rest of the structure. The anterior is em1- nently the cephalic portion. The digestive viscera from the stomach backward, and the reproductive viscera, belong as char- acteristically to the posterior portion. It follows, further, from the cephalized nature of an animal, that its primary centre of force, or the point from which concentra- tion and the reverse are to be measured, anteriorly and poste- riorly, is in the head, near the anterior extremity of the structure. In an Insect or Crustacean, its position is between the mouth and the organs of the senses—over which part the cephalic mass 1s located. This is sustained by embryogeny ; and also by the fact, that, as the two most fundamental characteristics of an animal are its being sense-bearing and mouth-feeding, the mouth, on de- scending to “the simplest of animals, is the last part to become obsolescent. Only in the inferior Invertebrates is the position of the mouth approximately central in the structure, as explained on page 90.* 1. Methods of Cephahzation. The methods, according to which the grades of cephalization are exhibited, may be arranged under the following heads: A. Size (force-measured) of life-system: each type, between Man at one extreme and Protozoans at the other, having its spe- cial range of variation in this respect. B. Functional: or variations as to the distribution of the functions anteriorly and posteriorly, and as to their condition. C. Incremental: or variations as to vegetative increment, that is, as to amplitude, and multiplicative development, D. Structural; or variations m the conditions of the structure,— whether (1) compacted, or, on the other hand, resolved into nor- mal elements; (2) simple, or complex by specialization; (3) de- fective, or perfect; (4) animal-like, or plant-like, K. Postural : or variations as to posture. (Only in Verte- brates.) F.-Embryological: or variations connected with the develop- ment of the young, G. Geographical distribution. For greater convenience and uniformity, the methods under these heads are mentioned beyond as they appear when viewed along the descending line of grade, instead of the ascending, This is, in fact, the more natural way, since the typical form in a * There may also be one or more secondury centres of force ; but they are, as regards the subject before us, of comparatively small importance, The in- dependent development of the abdomen and cepnalothorax in Crustaceans is a case of the kind. based on the Principle of Cephalzation. 83 group—the fixed point for reference—holds a position towards the top of the group. The methods, as given, are therefore more strictly methods of decephalization than of cephalization ; but the former are simply the reverse of the latter. A. S1ze (OR FORCE) OF LIFE-SYSTEM. 1. Potential. Exhibited in less and less force and size of life- system with decline of grade (and the reverse, with rise of grade) ; as that in passing from the type of Megasthenes (Quadrumanes, Carnivores, Herbivores, and Mutilates) to that of Microsthenes (Chiropters, Insectivores, Rodents, and Edentates) ; or from that of Decapods to that of Tetradecapods among Crustaceans—in which latter case, unlike the former, there is also retroferent de- cephalization ; and so, generally, in passing from a higher to a lower type, it being equivalent to passing to a type of smaller and weaker life-system. B. FuNcTIONAL. 2. Retroferent.—A transfer of functions backward that belong anteriorly in the higher cognate type. Under this method, there are the following cases :— a. A transfer of members from the cephalic to the locomotive series; as the transfer of the forelimbs to the locomotive series in passing from Man to Brute Mammals; that of a pair of max- illipeds or posterior mouth-organs to the locomotive series in passing from Insects to Spiders; that of two pairs of maxillipeds to the locomotive series in passing from Decapod to Tetradecapod Crustaceans. b. A transfer of locomotive or prehensile power and function, more or less completely, from the anterior locomotive organs to the posterior. c. A transfer of the locomotive function, more or less com- pletely, from the limbs (these often becoming obsolete) to the body, and mainly to the caudal extremity. Under 6 and e, the condition may be described as— (4) Prosthenic (from the Greek seo, before, and obevos, strong), if the anterior locomotive organs have their normal superiority. (0) Metasthenie (from wera, after, &c.), if a posterior pair is the more important, and the anterior are weak or obsolete. (c) Urosthenic (from oven, tail, &c.), if the posterior part of the body, or the caudal extremity, is the main organ of locomotion. Ordinary flying Birds are prosthenic, while the Precoces (Galli- naceous Birds, Ostriches, &c.), bemg poor at flying, or incapable of it, are metasthenic, and they thus exhibit their inferiority of grade, Hymenopters, Dipters, Lepidopters, &c., among Insects, are prosthenic, while Coleopters, Orthopters, Strepsipters, &c., in which the fore-wings (the elytra) do not aid in flight, or but little, 84 On the Classification of Animals are metasthenic. Fleas, which are degradational species, related to Dipters, have the third or posterior pair of legs much the longest and strongest. Among Macrural Crustaceans, the strongest legs are, in the higher species, the first pair; in others inferior, the second ; in others still inferior (the Penzids), the third pair. Viewed on the ascending grade, this method is the preferent. 3. Pervertive—A subjection of an organ to any abnormal function inferior to that normal to it; as in the adaptation of the nose of the Elephant to prehension; of the antenne of many inferior Crustaceans to prehension or locomotion; of the maxil- lipeds of inferior Macrurans to locomotion; of the forehead in many Herbivores to purposes of defence. The perverted nose of the Proboscideans is one of the indica- tions of their inferiority to the Carnivores; but it is not neces- sarily a mark of Inferiority among Herbivores themselves, as the faculty of prehension is one of those especially characterising Car- nivores and other higher Mammals, and nearly all Herbivores fail of it. Viewed on the ascending grade, this method and the following may be included under the term perfunctionative. 4. Defunctionative.— Exhibited in the defectiveness or absence of the normal function of an organ; as in the absence of the function of prehension from the fore-limbs of Herbivores (this prehension in the fore-limbs belonging to the Mammalian type) ; and that of locomotion mostly from all the limbs in the Muti- lates; that of locomotion from the female Bopyrus; that of loco- motion from Cirripeds and other attached animals; that of the sense connected with the second pair of antennz (and probably also the first, these organs being obsolete) in the Lernzas and Cirripeds, these antenne being simply prehensile organs in a Lernea, and constituting the base of the peduncle in an Anatifa.* This degradation and loss of functions is connected often with the elliptic and amplificative methods of decephalization. It is connected with the latter in the Bopyrus, and also in Cirripeds and other attached species. C. INcREMENTAL. 5, Amplificative.—Exhibited in an elongation or general enlarge- ment of the segments or members, and an increased laxness of the parts. Includes the cases— a, Lengthening, widening, or laxness in the anterior portion of the body; the same in the posterior portion. * See “ Expl. Exp. Report on Crustacea,” p. 1898, and plate 96, where it is shown that the antenne of the young Anatifa have a sucker-like organ for attachment, and become, in the metamorphosis, the bottom of the peduncle by which the adult Anatifa is attached. based on the Principle of Cephalization. 85 * 6, An abnormal enlargement of the general structure. The elongation or enlargement which takes place with decline of grade is mainly posterior, it being small anteriorly, and some- times none at all. In passing from the Brachyural to the Mac- rural type of Crustaceans, the change anteriorly is principally in an increased laxness and lengthening of the parts, with little in- crease in the dimensions of the body anterior to the mouth; while the abdomen (or posterior extremity) is enlarged 10 to 50 times beyond the bulk it has in the Crab. Descending from a snail to an oyster, there is diminution anteriorly and great enlargement posteriorly, and the animal is little more than a visceral sac. In less marked cases of the amplificative method, there is only an attenuation or lengthening of the body and limbs, as in many Neuropters, Orthopters, Homopters, wading Birds, &c. The Lepidopters, also, in their very great expanse of wing, exemplify this method. In species that are attached, as the Cirripeds, the young are usually free; and it is only when they begin to out- grow, amplificately, the minute life-system (Entomostracan in the Cirripeds) that they become fixed. As attached animals, they often attain great size. Viewed on the ascending grade, this method is the concentra- tive; and itis exhibited in the increased abbreviation and conden- sation of the anterior and posterior members and segments, or of the whole structure. 6. Multiplicative-—Exhibited in an abnormal multiplication of segments or members; as in Myriapods, Worms, Phyllopods, Trilobites, &c. There may be— a. Simple Multiplicative ; as in the superior Myriapods, the Chilopods, in which the body-segments, thus multiplied, have each its single or normal pair of members. b. Compound Multiplicative ; as in the Myriapods, of the Iulus division, or Diplopods (Chilognaths), in which there is a duplica- tion of the pair of legs of a body segment. The name Diplopod, adopted by Gervais and some other authors, has the advantage of haying thus a dynamical value. The multiplicative method is, in general, a degradational one. When it affects only subordinate parts of the structure, as the length of the tail of Mammals, or of Reptiles, &c., the forms are not necessarily degradational. But when it affects the general structure, and the types are indefinite in segments, like the Myriapods, Worms, and Snakes, the forms are degradational. In Mammals, the tail may be said to have indefiniteness of limit ; but, since this part is only an appendage to the body and has little functional importance, its elongation cannot properly be re- garded as a mark of degradation, although one of inferiority. 86 On the Classification of Animals When, however, the posterior extremity is, in magnitude and im- portance, a part of the main body structure itself, as in Snakes and Fishes, the case is properly an example of multiplicative degradation. The abnormal number of segments under the multiplicative method may arise from a self-subdivision of enlarging normal segments, or from additions beyond the range of the normal number. The many joints of the antenne in Crustaceans of the Cyclops group, the writer has shown to result through the former method, and the multiple segments of Phyllopods may be of the same origin: but there are no facts yet ascértained that would refer the multiplication of segments in Myriapods and Worms to this method. Viewed on the ascending grade, this method is the limitative. D. STRUCTURAL. 7. Analytic.— Exhibited in a resolving of the body-structure, or of an organ, more or less completely, into its equal normal elements, or in a tendency to such a resolution. A relaxed state of the cephalic power leads to a relaxed and elementally-constituted structure. When this method charac- terizes strongly the general structure, the form is usually degra- dational ; as in Myriapods, Worms, larves of Insects,—these structures consisting of a series of nearly similar rings (the normal elements of an Articulate), without a subdivision into head, thorax, and abdomen. Fishes, of the Vertebrate type, are, as nearly as may be, in this elementalized condition. An ap- proximation towards analysis or resolution of the body appears in the absence of the constriction between the head and thorax in Spiders and Crustaceans ; and still further, in the absence of the constriction between the thorax and abdomen in the lowest of Spiders,—the Acaroids. - Under this method, there 1s, in no case, among adults, or larves, a complete analysis or resolution of the head into normal seg- ments; the closest approximation to it, Insecteans and Crus- taceans, Occurs in the Gastrurans (Squilla group). But here the mandibular, and one, two, or more maxillary segments are still united. In an Insect, the head contains six normal segments, and the thorax three; and yet the thorax has 3 to 5 times the bulk of the head ;—showing a condensation in the head-part equal to. 6 to 10 times that of the thorax. Concentration in an animal structure is therefore eminently cephalic concentration, or, in a word, cephalization,—the head being the part most condensed, and least hable to occur resolved into its elements. The analytic method, viewed on the ascending grade, is the synthetic. based on the Principle of Cephalization. 87 8. Simplificative.— Exhibited in increased simplicity of structure, and in an equality of parts that are normally identical. The cases are— | a. Simplicity from diminished number of internal or external organs for carrying on the processes of life; as in the absence of distinct respiratory organs, or of different parts in the digestive system, &c.; or the union of the sexes in one individual, &c. ; —a simplification which reaches its extreme limit among Radiates in the Hydra, and among animals, in the Protozoans. b. Simplicity from equality in parts normally alike; as, equality in the height of the teeth of some of the earliest of Tertiary Mam- mals; in the annuli of Worms. This ease is related to the analytic. Viewed on the ascending grade, this method is the diferentia- tive, the facts exhibiting which are embraced under the well-known law of differentiation or specialization, which is fundamental in all development. Differentiation internally, as it multiplies and perfects the means of elaborating the structure, is attended with an increas- ingly higher grade of chemical change, more perfect nutrition, and more complete decarbonization of the blood; and implies, therefore, improvement in all tissues, a more sensitive nervous system, and greater cephalic power and activity. And from the reverse comes the reverse effect. 9, Elliptic—Exhibited in the defectiveness or absence of seg- ments or members normally pertaining to the type of the order or class containing the species, and arising from abnormal weakness in the general system, or in an organ. It is exhibited especially in the degradational or inferior types. The cases are— Incomplete or deficient (1) segments, or (2) members, in either (a) the anterior, or (b) the posterior portion of the body; as in the absence of some or all, of the teeth in Edentates; of the posterior limbs in Whales ; of the abnormal appendages and pos- terior thoracic segments in some Schizopods or degradational Macrurans; of the antenne, either one or both pairs, in many inferior Entomostracans ; of wings in the Flea, &e. This method of decephalization differs from the defunctionative in implying a deficiency not only of function but also of organ or member. The incompleteness or deficiency of normal parts referred to above will be better appreciated if contrasted with deficiencies from other causes. The principal other causes are the following :— (1.) A high degree of cephalization or cephalic concentration in the system.—Thus in the crab, the highest of Crustaceans, the abdomen is very small, and elliptic both in segments and members, 88 On the Classification of Animals because of the high degree of cephalic concentration ; while in the Schizopods referred to above, and in the Limulus and many other inferior Crustaceans, the same deficiency comes from weakness of life-system or decephalization. (2.) High development of one part of an organ, at the expense of other adjoining parts.—This principle may be said to include the preceding, since, in that, there is a high development of the anterior or cephalic portion of the structure at the expense of the posterior or circumferential. But here, there is reference to special organs rather than to the structure as a whole. Thus, in the foot of a Horse, there is an enlargement of one toe, normally the third, at the expense of the others, and this enlarged toe has the full normal strength that belongs to the foot under the Her- bivore-type. It is apparent from the facts m paragraphs (1) and (2), that there may be an elliptic method of cephalization as well as of de- cephalization. The Crab-type is a striking example of the former. The foot of the Horse, considering separately the Horse-type, is a case under the former rather than the latter; for, in any related species, a lessening of the disparity of the toes would be evi- dence of weakness and inferiority under that type. Yet, as com- pared with the higher Carnivore-type, in which the life-system has the strength to develop all the toes in their completeness and ful- ness of vigour, with great strength of foot, the foot of the horse is elliptic, and a mark of inferior cephalization. In the typical Ruminants, the complete series of teeth is indicated in an embry- onic state before birth ; but part of them fail of development, while the others—those specially characteristic of the type—go forward to great size and perfection. As in the foot of the Horse there is here an enlargement of one portion at the expense of the others. And this, under the Ruminant-type, is progress toward the highest condition of the type, or cephalization by an elliptic method. A Ruminant in which the teeth should be all equally developed would be one of too great feebleness of system to carry the struc- ture to its typical perfection; and such is the Hocene Anoplothere,* If, however, the Ruminants were referred to the Megasthene-type * “ Amongst the varied forms of existing Herbivora we find certain teeth disproportionately developed, sometimes to a monstrous size; whilst other teeth are reduced to rudimental minuteness, or are wanting altogether: but. the number of teeth never exceeds, in any hoofed quadruped, that displayed in the dental formula of the Anoplotherium. It is likewise most interesting to find that those species with a comparatively defective dentition, as the horned Ruminants for example, manifest transitorily, in the embryo-state, the germs of upper incisors and canines, which disappear before birth, but which were retained and functionally developed in the cloven-footed Anoplothere.”’— Goodsir, British Assoc. Rep. 1888. Owen’s Brit. Mamm., 1846, p. 488. based on the Principle of Cephalization. 89 as represented in the Carnivores, the deficiency of teeth would be an example of decephalization by the elliptic method ; for such a deficiency under the higher type of the Carnivores would be evi- dence of abnormal weakness. The same principle is exemplified in Carnivores; for the size and number of the molar teeth are less the larger the canines. The Macherodus, with its huge tusks and but three molars to either side of a jaw, is a remarkable example. Again, in the Elephant, two incisors are developed into the great tusks of the upper jaw at the expense of the other incisors and canines ; and jaws that look as if bearing profoundly the mark of degradation or decephalization, are hence compatible with high cephalization under the Herbivore-type. It is not to be inferred that the enlargement of one part of an organ at the expense of the others, is necessarily an indication of general elevation of grade. Even in the case of the foot of the Horse, the elevation implied is elevation only under the Horse-type or among Solidungulates, and not elevation above all other Herbivores, These examples are sufficient to illustrate the contrast between the elliptic method of cephalization and of decephalization; and also the fact, that a case of the former in one relation may be one of the latter in a higher, that is, if referred to a higher group as the standard type. The cases that would come under the elliptic method of cephalizaticn (as that of the Crab) have been already referred to by the writer to the concentrative, they being a result ef concentration in the life- Se. (3.) That simplicity of structure which is opposed to the pec ized or differentiated condition of superiority of type.—Ii is evident that the examples of elliptic decephalization, taking this term in its most comprehensive sense, may include the various simplifications which mark unspecialised structures of inferior types. Yet we propose to restrict the term to those examples of deficiencies which are obviously connected with degradational or hypotypic conditions under any type. Viewed on the ascending grade, this method is the completive. 10. Phytozoie.—Hxhibited in a departure from the Animal-type through a participation in structural features of the Plant-type, that is, through a plant-like arrangement of the organs. The cases are— a. A radiate arrangement of external organs; as in the Bryo- zoans and inferior Tunicates. b. A radiate arrangement of internal as well as external organs; as in Radiates. c. Perfect, or nearly perfect, symmetry in the radiation, instead of eccentric or irregular forms. Perfect symmetry is most gene- ral where the number of rays is based on the numbers 4 or 6 NEW SERIES—VOL. XIX. NO. I.—JANUARY 1864. M 90 On the Classification of Animals (which, it is to be noted, are multiples of 2 and 3), 4 being the number for the class of Meduse, and both 4 and 6 occurring in that of Polyps. But if the number of rays is 5, as in the highest of Radiates, the Echinoderms, while examples of perfect symmetry occur, there are many cases of unsymmetrical forms (as in the Spatangi) in which the Radiate type seems to tend to emerge from phytoid towards true animal-hke forms, In the regu- larly radiate, the mouth is central or very nearly so, while in the Spatangi, there is something of the fore-and-aft form of the animal. Among species under the true animal-type there are forms showing an approximation to the central position which the mouth has in Radiates. In a Limulus, for example, the mouth-aperture is only one-half less remote from the anterior margin of the body than from the posterior (base of caudal spine). The Limuli are extreme in amplificative decephalization and in lowness of grade. Under the multiplicative method also, there is something similar in Worms and Myriapods. The head is here strictly at the ante- rior extremity; but the cephalic force has so feeble control, that joints multiply behind; and in the lowest of Worms, each sepa- rate segment is nearly equal in all functions to the cephalic segment. Moreover, in the embryological development of an An- nelid, the first segment (with its pair of appendages) that is formed after the appearance of the head is not the anterior one close to the head, but the eighth (or one near this); and from this point the rings form in succession posteriorly, and also towards it from the head; as if, in these multiplicate species, there was a secondary centre of force distant from the front which preponderates over the primary one. This method viewed on the ascending grade is the holozoic (from daog all, and Jwov animal); it is exhibited in a rise from the plant- like type to the true animal-hke type. E, PosturRAt. 11. Postural_Exhibited in an increasing proneness in the position of the nervous system—the extremes being verticulity in Man, and horizontality in the Fish. F. EMBRYOLOGICAL. 12. Prematurative.—Exhibited in precocity of young or larves. Thus, the chicken, as soon as born, runs about and seeks its own food, while the young of those Birds which belong to the superior group,—the true flying Birds—remain helpless until able to fly; a fact recognised in Bonaparte’s classification of Birds. So the young colt or calf (Herbivorous) is on its legs almost as soon as horn; but the young kitten (Carnivorous, and higher in type) is for a considerable time helpless. Prematurity has often been recognised as evidence of low based on the Principle of Cephalization. 91 development and low rank; and the following is the explanation of it:— When an animal has reached the condition required for locomo- tion and for the care of itself, it has already the essential faculties of an adult; and although these faculties of locomotion and self- feeding are of comparatively low grade, the animal possessing them is approximately mature in its cephalic forces, and after- wards rises but little with growth. Prematurity hence involves inferiority. The pupa-state of an Insect is a means of higher de- velopment the more perfect its inactivity. For this complete rest allows all the forces of the individual to be concentrated on the internal processes, and favours, therefore, that cephalic growth which makes a special demand on these forces ; while in an active pupa (or rather the larve that passes through no pupa-state), activity, whether that of locomotion, or of digestion, constantly _ exhausts force; and only the balance, not thus run away with, goes towards the maturing process. With such an open outlet of force, the animal may mature physically, that is, grow and perfect its outer structure; but cephalically, or, in all those points of structure, as well as psychical powers, that are connected with superior cephalic development, it makes little advance. Hence (a), those insects whose larves are essentially like the adults, and undergo no metamorphosis, are inferior in type,—as generally so recognised. Again (b), those Insects (as most Hymenopterous) whose larves are footless grubs are superior in type to those (as the Lepidop- terous) whose larves are most highly developed and active. Viewed on the ascending grade, this method is the perma- turative. 13. Gemmative.—Exhibited in multiplication by buds. Bud- ding may produce— a. Perfect individuals, capable of egg-production. b. Individuals capable only of budding, and giving origin to a perfect ege-producing individual, as the last of a series of buddings, c, Caducous, or persistent buds; the latter leading to compound forms, either branching, lamellar, or massive. This power of reproduction by buds occurs in many Worms, both superior and inferior; in Bryozoan and many Ascidian Mollusks ; in Polyps and many other Radiates, The production of persistent buds is the lowest grade, and is common in the bud- ding Mollusks and Radiates, but not the Articulates. Among budding Articulates, case 6 appears to be of lower grade than case a. This method is allied to the multiplicative, p. 85. It is also phytozoie (p. 89), or a plant-like feature in animal life, 92 On the Classification of Animals 14. Genetic—Number of young or eggs.—As is well known, there is a mark of grade in the number of eggs or young pro- duced at a single period or in a given time—the number, other things equal, being inversely as the rank or grade of the species. 15, Thermotic.—Temperature required for embryonic develop- ment.—Another mark of grade is afforded by the temperature required for egg-development :—for, in general, the higher the temperature, the higher the grade. Thus, the eggs of Birds re- quire heat above ordinary summer heat, while those of Reptiles do not. The embryos of Mammals require still higher and more uniformly continued heat until their maturity, the Odtocoids alone excepted, in which birth is premature. The eggs of some Hy- menopterous Insects mature inside of the larves of other Insects, where they are never exposed to a temperature of 32° Fahr. ; while those of ordinary Lepidopters and many other species mature in the summer heat, and may stand a temperature be- ~ low 0° Fahr. | The necessity of a higher temperature indicates, ordinarily, that the chemical processes in the vital economy are of a higher or more delicate character, or those required for a higher grade of cephalization. G. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 16. Habitational.—(1.) Terrestrial species higher than A quatic.— This law, announced by Agassiz, is also directly dependent on the conditions determining the grade of cephalization. a. In the case of aquatic species, the ova, as well as the adult animals, are bathed in a liquid that penetrates to the interior, and dilutes, to some degree, the nutrient or developing fluids ; and, under such circumstances, the grade of chemical or vital evolution cannot be as high as in the atmosphere. The germ must there- fore be one of an inferior kind. Aquatic animals are, in an im- portant sense, diluted animals. b. Again, terrestrial species whose ova are hatched in water, or whose young are aquatic, are for the same reason inferior, as a general rule, to those whose ova are hatched on the land. Aquatic development or life is one of the most important marks of low grade. Among embryological characteristics, it has often a profounder value than prematurity. The inferior division of a class, order, tribe, and even subordinate group, is often one con- — sisting either of aquatic species, or those that are semi-aquatic (aquatic in habit though not strictly so in mode of life, or aquatic in the young state when not in the adult). (2.) Living (a) in unpure waters, or those abnormal in condition ; or (b) in deficient light, as in shaded places, or the ocean’s depths, a mark of inferiority.x—Muddy waters, or salt waters excessively based on the Principle of Cephalization. 93 saline as in some inland lakes, or waters only brackish, are here included. But oceanic waters, although saline, are not properly impure. Of the sub- kingdoms and the classes containing aquatic animals, the highest groups are those of marine waters. “Ths, the highest of Mollusks, the Cephalopods, are marine; the Hales of Radiates, the Echinoderms ; the highest of Fishes, the Selachians; of Crus- taceans, or the Maioid or Triangular Crabs; of Worms, the Dorsi- branchs ; of Acalephs, all but the Hydroids are marine; while all species of Kchinoderms and Polyps are marine. Among the subordinate groups there are some fitted particularly for fresh water. Types that belong to fresh water sometimes have inferior species in brackish or salt water; and those that belong to salt water sometimes have inferior species in brackish or fresh water. (3.) Species of cold climates inferior to those of warm.—Ac- cording to the 15th canon, the highest oviparous animals should be tropical species ; but not necessarily so the viviparous Mam- mals, since, with them, the requisite temperature for embryonic development is obtained within the parent. An exception to this, as regards oviparous species, is afforded by Crustaceans ; for, as shown by the writer, the highest kinds, the Maioid or Triangular Crabs, have their fullest development in the cooler temperate zone. (4). Having a wide range with regard to any of the earth’s phy- sical conditions, as (a) climate, (b) height, (c) oceanie temperature, (d) oceanic depth, (e) hygrometric conditions, &§c., commonly a mark of inferiority.—For if the development of a high order of cepha- lized life requires rest for a while in the young, as, for example, the nursing time in the higher Mammals and Birds, and the Pupa state in Insects, and also an absence from diluting or impure waters and the presence of the full light of the sun, it should also equally demand precise or narrowly restricted limits in all physi- cal conditions, these being essential to the more refined or delicate chemical or vital processes. Man is the chief exception to this law,—and for the reason that he is not simply in and of nature, but also above nature, and has the will and power to bring her forces under subjection, overcoming the rigours of climate, and subjugating other inimical agencies by his art. Protophytes and Man are the only species that have the range of the world—the one because so low, the other so high. The Dog accompanies Man in his wide qanderiues : : but only ee the virtue which is in Man, who provides the artificial heat, protection, and food his brute attendant needs. Even the human race dwindles in ex- ‘tremes of climate, either hot or cold. Recapitulation.—The following are the names of the several 94 On the Classification of Animals methods of cephalization pointed out, both those based on the descending and ascending lines of grade. Descending. Ascending. A. Size of Life-system, 1. Potential. 1. Potential. B. Functional, 2. Retroferent. 2. Preferent. ss 3. Pervertive. 5) } eae: a 4. Defunctionative. 4 \ Perfunctionative C. Incremental, . 5. Amplificative. 5. Concentrative. Me 6. Multiplicative. 6. Limitative. D, Structural, 7. Analytic. 7. Synthetic. 35 8. Simplificative. 8. Differentiative. 5 . 9. Elliptic. 9. Completive. . “i Sei, 10) sediytozore: 10. Holozoie. if Postural, 2 3 ih Poctural: 11. Postural. F, Embryological, . 12. Prematurative. 12. Prematurative. The remaining terms fall into both columns. With ascending grade, the changes are mostly concentrative ; with descending, they are diffusive or decentrative. 2. Additional Observations. 1. Typical, Degradational and Hemitypic forms. — Typical species are those within type-limits, and degradational those out- side of the same.* But, as groups of all grades have each their own type and type-limits, species may be typical in one relation, and degradational in another; as Fishes, for example, while de- gradational Vertebrates, have still their own type and type-limits, the Teliosts being the typical Fishes, or those within these limits. The characteristics of a type, in any case, are those fundamen- tally distinctive of the group. As to that of the Animal Kingdom at large, we observe that an animal is (1) a fore-and-aft, (2) cephalized, (3) forward-moving organism. The type-idea is hence expressed in a structure having (1) fore-and-aft and dorsoventral polarity ; (2) a head at the forward extremity containing the seats or organs of the senses, as well as the mouth and mouth organs ; and (3) the power of locomotion, if not also limbs for the pur- pose. Consequently Radiates, as they fail in the first criterion, are not within type-limits; neither are any attached species of animal, and only in a partial degree species without limbs for | locomotion, Again, the Vertebrate-type, in addition to having the character- istics of the animal type and the vertebrate structure, is essen- tially terrestrial, and therefore the requisite limbs and structure * The term degradational has no reference to any method of origin by de- gradation: it implies only that the forms so called represent or correspond to a degraded condition of the type. based on the Principle of Cephalization. 95 for terrestrial life are in the type-idea, Fishes are therefore outside of type-limits, or are degradational species. The Mammal-type, the highest under Vertebrates, in addition to the characteristics of the Vertebrate type, has that of being Viviparous in its births, embracing under this quality that of sus- taining the embryo by placental nutrition until its maturity (as is not true of the oviparous); and with this there is also that of sustaining the young for a while after birth, by suckling. Hence the Ostocoids, in which there is only imperfect placental nutrition, and birth is premature, and there is an approximation thus to oviparous species, constitute a degradational type. The Megasthene-type, under Mammals, has its degradational group in the Cetaceans or Mutilates, which fail mostly of limbs, and are aquatic species; and the Carnivore, its degradational group in the Seal and related Pinnipeds. The latter have the type-structure of the Carnivores, while the Mutilates have the type-structure of neither Carnivores nor Herbivores, and are there- fore an independent type under the division of Megasthenes, Again, the Bird-type, in addition to the characteristics of the Vertebrate-type, embraces features adapting the animal to flying, as feathers and wings; perfect circulation; and also a vertebral column which is posteriorly limitate, instead of one admitting of a caudal elongation—somewhat as Insects and Spiders are closed types behind, in contrast with the mvultiplicate Myriapods. Hence the Reptilian Birds, having indefinite posterior elongation, and some other Reptilian characteristics, are outside of type-limits. So, again, under the subdivisions of Birds, species that have the wings unfledged or but half-fledged, and which, therefore, cannot lead an aerial life, are degradational; and species that have the feet imperfectly digitate by their being web-footed, and which therefore lead a semi-aquatic life, are semi-degradational in the group to which they may belong, These examples are sufficient to illustrate the uses of the words typical and degradational. It is of the highest importance, for the correct classification of species, that in all cases it should be rightly determined whether a degradational genus is degradational to the family to which it be- longs, or to the tribe or order, or to a still higher division. Al- though Seals and Whales are similarly adapted to the water, it is plain to one familiar with the species that the former are degrada- tional Carnivores, and the latter degradational Megasthenes, as stated above. But like cases come up in every part of the Animal Kingdom, and close study is necessary for a true decision. The first preliminary towards such a decision is a clear idea of the class-type, order-type, tribe-type, or subordinate type under which the genus or group falls. 96 On the Classification of Animals The term hemitypic has been shown in the preceding paper to imply in general a grade of the degradational. But, in some groups, as in the class of Fishes among Vertebrates, it is appli- cable to cases which are not typical because of their being inter- mediate between the type of the group and a superior type or types (p. 77). Typical groups, or more properly, the groups above the degra- dational, may be of several grades. Thus under Vertebrates, the classes of Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles, represent different grades of Vertebrate types, and the grades may be designated in order, Alphatypic, Betatypic, Gammatypic (from the first three Greek letters, a, 8, y). Under Mammals also, there are three grades, those of Man, Megasthenes, and Microsthenes ; then, below these, the hemitypic or degradational Ostocoids. Under tribes, families, and genera, the number of grades may be large. Degradational subdivisions are strictly hypotypic, or below the typical range. Typical subdivisions, or those above the degradational, are not, in all cases, trwe typical, as well exemplified by the orders of Fishes: the Teliosts alone being true typical, and the Ganoids and Selachians, called hemitypic above, being properly hypertypic, or above the typical range. Another example of this is afforded by the subdivisions of Megasthenes. Carnivores and Herbivores are different grades of the true typical, the former the more perfect, or eutypic; while the Quadrumanes or Monkeys are hypertypic, being an intermediate type between the typical Megasthenes and Man ; and the Mutilates (Cetaceans, &c.) are hypotypic. Among the Microsthenes, the Chiropters or Bats are hypertypic, the Insec- tivores and Rodents true typical of two grades, and the Edentates hypotypic. Among the subdivisions of Mammals there are three grades of true typical; and of them man is archetypic, as he has been styled, being the one perfect type. Degradational forms may be classed under three heads, as follows :— 1. Degenerative ; in which the forms are thoroughly animal in type. The methods of decephalization which lead most commonly to degenerative forms are the analytic, multiplicative, elliptic, and defunctionative. 2. Hemiphytoid ; when, without an internal radiate structure, the species are (a) attached to a support, like plants (see defunc- tionative method, p. 84); (b), budding (gemmative, p. 91); (c), radiate externally (phytozotc, case a, p. 89). The externally radiate structure is a lower grade of hemiphy- toid degradation than either, being attached, or gemmate. 3. Phytoid (from ¢urov, a plant); when the structural arrange- based on the Principle of Cephalization. on ments are internally, as well as externally, radiate (Phytozoic, ease 5). As Radiates have no limbs, and but imperfect senses, the higher grades among them are manifested most prominently in the con- ditions of the nutritive system. Some of them (the Echinoderms) are superior, as animals, to the lower hemiphytoid species, such as the Bryozoans. 2. Further exemplifications of the preceding methods of Cephal- ization.—In order to give greater clearness to the explanations which have been made on the preceding pages, the application of the terms expressing the methods of cephalization to grades of species may here be further illustrated. In the class of Crustaceans, the distinction between the Ist and 2d orders, or Decapods and Tetradecapods, depends on case a under the retroferent method—a transfer of members from the cephalic to the locomotive series. In connection with it, there is also an exhibition, to some extent, of the analytic method, more of the segments of the body in the latter being free, and ali, more regular or normal in form. Under Decapods, the difference between the 1st and 2d tribes, the Brachyural and Macrural, depends mainly on the amplificative method—there being in the latter, by an abrupt transition, greater length and laxness before and behind. Under the analytic, also, the lengthened abdomen in the Macruran has its normal number of segments and members. Among the subdivisions of Macrurans, the retroferent method appears prominently in the transfer of force from the jirst pair of legs to the second, and, among the lower genera, to the third pair (see p. 83); the amplificative, in the length of antennz in some families, and in the length of abdomen as compared with that of the cephalothorax in others; the elliptic, in the absence of pos- terior cephalothoracic members, and also the obsolescence of the abdominal members in many Schizopods or degradational Macru- rans; the pervertive, in the outer maxillipeds taking the form and functions of feet, as in many inferior Macrurans. Under Tetradecapods, the difference between the Ist and 2d tribes, or Isopods and Amphipeds, depends en the very same methods as that between the 1st and 2d under the Decapods ; that is, on the amplijicative, as shown in the greater length of cephalo- thorax and the elongated abdomen, and on the analytic, the — lengthened abdomen having its normal segments and approximately normal members, Under the Amphipods, the amplificative method is variously ulustrated ; the elliptic in the obsolescent abdomen of the Caprel- lids, as well as in the absence or obsolescence in many species of two pairs of thoracic legs. NEW SERIES.—VOL, XIX. NO. I.—JANUARY 1864. N 98 On the Classification of Animals Again, in the class of Insecteans, the distinction between the Ist and 2d orders, or Insects and Spiders, depends on case (a) under the retroferent method (p. 83); and, in connection, there is an exhibition of an incipient stage of the analytic, the head and thorax in Spiders constituting a single mass (p. 86). Under Insects, the difference between the two highest divisions, Prosthenies and Metasthenics, depends on case (6) under the retro- ferent method, or a transfer of the flying function mainly or wholly to the posterior pair of wings. And the third is a degradational group, in which, by the amplificative, analytic, and elliptic methods, the species (Lepismz, &c.) are wingless and larve-like. Among Herbivores, the Elephant shows superiority (1) in having, as in Carnivores, the teeth (its tusks) for defensive weapons; (2) in having, as in Carnivores, the power of prehension, a quality, however, transferred from the teeth to one of the organs of sense, the nose; this organ of prehension also aids in defence; (3) in having the normal number of toes ; (4) in having pectoral mamme, as in the highest Megasthenes or Quadrumanes, the highest Microsthenes or Bats, and also in Man. The great size is not a mark of overgrowth and inferiority, for the animal is neither stupid nor sluggish. The Ruminants are inferior to the Elephant in having, not an inferior organ of sense, but the forehead, or typi- cally the most important part of the head, perverted to use for self-defence ; and also in other ways. Among Ruminants, the Stag or Elk-type shows superiority to the Ox-type, in (1) its more compact and smaller head; (2) its less magnitude posteriorly ; (3) its limbs adapted to fleet motion; (4) its fore-limbs adapted for climbing and clinging, giving them a special prosthenic character and great superiority to those of the Ox. The Horse-type shows inferiority to the Hlephant-type, in (1) its long head and neck (amplificate) ; (2) its one-hoofed foot ; (3) its being metasthenic, the hind legs serving as the principal organs of defence; and also in the characters mentioned above. The discussion of the subject of classification farther on, will be found to be a continued exemplification of the laws of cephaliza- tion, and we refer to it for additional elucidation. 3. The forms, resulting from the expression of the same law of cephalization in diverse groups, often similar; and hence come some of the analogies between groups, or their osculations.—It is appa- rent that the grades of cephalization may have expression in any division of the animal kingdom, and that hence may come parallel results as to form. For example, there may be cases of amplifica- tive decephalization—or of long-bodied or long-legged species— in the different orders or tribes of Insects; and, when so, the species, in these different groups thus characterized, will be, in a sense, representatives of one another, and the groups will ‘osculate” based on the Principle of Oephalization. 99 at such points. One example is that of Orthopters and Neurop- ters through the Mantids in the former, and the Mantispids in tie latter; also, that of Dipters and Neuropters, through the slender Tipulids of the former. The same may be exemplified among the orders of Birds. The degradational feature, for example, of webbed feet, or that of defective wings, may characterise the inferior species of different subdivisions, and so produce osculant groups; so may the amplificative feature of great length of limb and neck, the Herons among the Altrices, thus representing the Grallatores among the Preecoces. The osculations or close approximations of classes, orders, tribes, &c,, are thus often connected with like expressions of the methods of cephalization. 4. Forms resulting from high and low cephalization sometimes similar.—High and low cephalization often lead to similar forms, the former through cephalic concentration, the latter through cephalic and general feebleness ; just as a thing may be small, when the material is condensed or concentrated, and equally small when dilute and there is little of it. Thus the Crab has a very small memberless abdomen, from a contracting of the sphere of growth through concentrative cephalization; on the other hand, the Schizopod has a memberless abdomen, through a limitation of the sphere of growth resulting from mere feebleness in the life- system. The abbreviated memberless abdomen of the Caprellid and the obsolescent spine-like abdomen of the Limulus are other examples among Crustaceans of this elliptic decephalization. The Butterflies have very large wings through the amplificative method; but some inferior nocturnal species have the wings narrow, through inferiority of grade, on the above principle, and not properly through concentration and elevation. There is, in general, no danger of confounding the two cases, because the accompaniments in the structure of the superior species, as well as those of the inferior, common!y indicate their true relations, at once, to the mind that is well versed in the de- partment of zoology to which the species belong; but there are many cases in which it is not safe to make a hasty decision, 0. Uniformity of shape and size in any group greater among the lugher typical species than among the lower typical or degradational species.—On the higher typical level in any class, order, tribe, &c, the type is represented generally in its greatest number of species, and always under the least extravagance of form and size. Thus, Insects, the higher typical division of Insecteans, are vastly more numerous in species, and less diversified in size, form, and structure, than Crustaceans or Worms, And, under Insects, 100 On the Classification of Animals the Hymenopters have little variety of form of body, and form or size of wings, compared with the Neuropters, Lepidopters, Homopters, and even the Coleopters; and the Coleopters, little compared with the Orthopters. The fantastic shapes, in all cases, occur in the inferior typical or the degradational groups. In these, cephalization is of low grade, and as a consequence of this relaxing of the system, or its inferior concentration, the forms run off into varied extravagances. 6. Classification hereby placed on a dynamical or sthenic basis. — The laws of celaphalization, as is apparent from the explanations which have been made, are based upon the idea that an animal is centralized force; and that the degree of concentration of this force may be exhibited in the structure; that, consequently, the various grades of species or groups become apparent, to some extent, through size and form, and their determination is thus, in part, a matter of simple measurement. Dimensions or spatial conditions have a relation to force in the animal kingdom as well as in that of the celestial spheres. Rank or grade are thus brought to the rule and plummet, and classification, thereby, has a dynamical basis. The distinctions between groups have a dynamical or sthenic character, and all subdivisions in classification, when thoroughly understood, will have recognised sthenic relations. It must, however, be kept in mind that the element of size, when used in the application of the principle, or as a mark of superiority, is not absolute size. For it is oneof the laws of life that vegetative growth may enlarge a weak life-system to gigantic dimensions. This, the life-system of an Entomostracan takes great magnitude in a Limulus; of a Tretradecapod, in a female Bopyrus; of an Hdéntate, in a Megathere; of a Mutilate, ina Whale. ‘The body of a Crab has fifty times the dimensions of that of an Insect; and its head probably 100 times that of the head of an Insect, although an Insect is the superior species. Neither is mere muscular strength an indication of grade; for there is force used in sustaining the structure which is greater the higher the organism; and superior to this, there is sensorial and other cephalic force. Were we to base our comparison between the grade of life-system in a Crab and that of a Bee on the ground of muscular strength, we should go far astray; and — still wider from the mark, were we to rely on the relative sizes of the cephalic nervous masses; for this nervous mass in a com- mon Crab (Maia squinado of European seas) has twenty-five to thirty times the bulk of that in a Bee. Man yields in size and muscular strength not onlv to the higher Megasthenes, but to the Whales, or lowest; and the brain in the Elephant and the Whale based on the Principle of Cephalization. 101 outweighs his. The Megathere, although much more powerful than a Rodent, has not, on this account, as his structure and habits show, any claims to a place above the lowest of Micros- thenes, The terms Megasthenes and Microsthenes are not to be under- stood as signifying large Mammals and small Mammals, but Mammals of strong life-system and weak life-system. Comparing the typical species of Megasthenes* with those of Microsthenes, there is some correspondence between average size of structure and strength of life-system. But a comparison of the typical of the former with the degradational of the latter leads to very false results. An approximation to the right ratio is obtained from a com- parison of the degradational species of each ; but this is of no im- portance in its bearing on the question, since vegetative growth is apt to give the greatest proportional enlargement to the lowest species. These facts teach that relative size of body, or of brain, is no necessary test of relativerank. The ratio, in bulk, of 1: 3 between the brain of an average Man and that of a gorilla tells nothing of the actual difference of life-system, or of brain-power. The relative lineal dimensions of Microsthenes and Megasthenes has been estimated at 1:4, which gives, for the relative bulk, 1:64. If this be the typical ratio between the life systems of the highest Microsthenes and highest Megasthenes, surely that between the highest Megasthenes and normal man—he constituting a distinct order—must be at least as great. The same ratio of 1:4, as shown by the writer, is that for the mean size, lineally, of Tetradecapods and Decapods, under Crus- taceans. In two cases, then, consecutive orders differ by a like ratio, or approximately so, indimensions. As has been remarked, deductions from mere size may be very erroneous; yet there is no reason, in either of the above cases, to suppose the ratio of life- systems less than that thus indicated. May not, therefore, some similar ratio exist between other analogous consecutive orders, where size does not manifest it,—as, for example, between Spiders and Insects ? And is not the ratio a much greater one between the highest of Insecteans and highest of Crustaceans, since these subdivisions of Articulates are not orders but classes? Impor- tant results may flow from following out the idea here touched upon. * These orders of Mammals, make parallel series—the Chiropters or Bats of the Microsthenes representing the Quadrumanes of the Megasthenes, the Insectivores representing the Carnivores, the Rodents the Herbivores, and the Edentates the Mutilates. 102 On the Classification of Animals, After the preceding explanations, I proceed to exhibit some of the relations of the higher groups in zoological classification, as they appear in the light of this subject of cephalization. (To be continued in next number.) Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. By Grorce Lawson, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Chemistry and Natural History in Dalhousie College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The following Synopsis embraces a concise statement of what is known respecting Canadian ferns and filicoid plants. Imperfect as it is, I trust that it will prove useful to .bo- tanists and fern fanciers, and stimulate to renewed dili- gence in investigation. The whole number of species enumerated is 74. Of these 11 are doubtful. Farther in- vestigation will probably lead to the elimination of several of the doubtful species, which are retained for the present with a view to promote inquiry; but a few additional spe- cles, as yet unknown within the boundaries of Canada, may be discovered. The above number (74) may be regarded, then, as a fair estimate—perhaps shghtly in excess—of the actual number of ferns and filicoid plants existing in Ca- nada. The number certainly known to exist, after deduct- ing the species of doubtful occurrence, is 63. The number of species described in Professor Asa Gray’s exhaustive ‘‘ Manual,” as actually known to inhabit the northern United States, that is to say, the country lying to the south of the St Lawrence River and great lakes, stretching to and including Virginia and Kentucky in the south, and extending westward to the Mississippi River, is 75. This number does not include any doubtful species. | The number described in Dr Chapman’s “ Flora,’ as in- habiting the Southern States, that is, all the states south of Virginia and Kentucky and east of the Mississippi, is 69.* * Mr D. C. Eaton, M.A., is author of that portion of Dr Chapman’s “ Flora’’ which relates to the ferns. Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. 103 From these statements it will be seen that we have our due share of ferns in Canada. The whole number of ferns in all the American States, and the British North American Provinces, is estimated, in a recent letter from Mr EKaton, as probably over 100. In the British Islands there are about 60 ferns and filicoid plants. In islands of warmer regions the number is greatly increased. Thus Mr Eaton’s Enumeration of the true ferns collected by Wright, Scott, and Hayes, in Cuba, embraces 307 species. ‘The proportions of ferns to phanerogamous plants in the floras of different countries are thus indicated by Professor Balfour, in the ‘“ Class Book of Botany,” page 998, § 1604:—‘* In the low plains of the great continents within the tropics ferns are to phanerogamous plants as 1 to 20; on the mountainous parts of the great continents, in the same latitudes as 1 to 8 or L to 6; in Congo as 1 to 27; in New Holland as 1 to 26. In small islands, dispersed over a wide ocean, the proportion of ferns increases; thus, while in Jamaica the proportion is 1 to 8, in Otaheite it is 1 to 4, and in St Helena and Ascension nearly 1 to 2. In the temperate Zone, Humboldt gives the proportion of ferns to phanerogamous plants as 1 to 70. In North America the proportion is 1 to 35; in France 1 to 58; in Germany 1 to 52; in the dry parts of South Italy as 1 to 74; and in Greece 1 to 84. In colder regions the proportion increases; that is to say, ferns decrease more slowly in number than phane- rogamous plants. Thus, in Lapland, the proportion is 1 to 25; in Iceland 1 to 18; and in Greenland 1 to 12. The proportion is least in the middle temperate zone, and it increases both towards the equator and towards the poles; at tne same time it must be remarked, that ferns reach their absolute maximum in the torrid zone, and their absolute minimum in the arctic zone.” Canada consists of a belt of land, lying to the north of the St Lawrence River and the great lakes. By these it is separated, along nearly the whole extent of its south- eastern and western boundaries, from the northern United States, which thus enclose Canada on two sides. A striking resemblance, amounting almost to identity, is therefore to be looked for in the floras of the two countries. Yet species appear in each that are absent in the other. 104 Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. The species of ferns and filicoid plants which are cer- tainly Canadian, number : 63 Of these there mans the Socihea States, : 58 Do. do. Southern States, : 38 Do. do. Europe, : ; 36 The following table is designed to show some of the geo- graphical relations of our Canadian ferns. The first column (I. ) refers exclusively to the occurrence of the species with- in the Canadian boundary. The plus sign (+) indicates that the species is general, or at least does not show any decided tendency towards the extreme eastern or western, or northern or southern parts of the province. The letters N, 8, EH, W, &c., variously combined, indicate that the species is so limited to the corresponding northern, southern, eastern, or western parts of the province, or at least has a well-defined tendency to such limitation. The mark of interrogation (?) signifies doubt as to the occurrence of the species. The second column (I1.) shows what Canadian species occur also in the Northern States, that is the region embraced by A. Gray’s Manual; and the third column (III.) those that extend down south into Chapman’s territory. The fourth column (IV.) shows the occurrence of our species in Europe ; C in this column indicating Continental Europe, and B the British Islands. The fifth or last column (V.) shows the species that extend northwards into the Arctic circle—35 in all, of which, however, only 14, or perhaps 15, are known to be arctic in America. Am, As, Eu, and G indicate re- spectively Arctic America, Arctic Asia, Arctic Hurope, and Arctic Greenland. The information contained in the last column has been chiefly derived from Dr Hooker’s able Memoir in the Linnean Transactions (vol. xxi. p. 251). Hitherto no attention whatever has been paid, in Canada, to the study of those remarkable variations in form to which the species of ferns are so peculiarly liable. In Britain, the study of varieties has now been pursued by botanists so fully as to show that the phenomena which they present have a most important bearing upon many physiological and taxological questions of the greatest scientific interest. The varieties are studied in a systematic manner, and the laws of variation have been to a certain extent ascertained. And as the astronomer can point out the existence of a Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. 105 planet before it has been seen, and the chemist can con- struct formule for organic compounds—members of homo- logous series—in anticipation of their actual discovery, so, in like manner the pteridologist now studies the variations of species by a comparative system, which enables him to look for equivalent forms in the corresponding species of different groups. Studies so pursued are calculated to evolve more accurate and definite notions as to the real nature of species, and the laws of divergence in form of which they are capable. I would therefore earnestly invite Canadian botanists to a more careful study of the varietzes of the Canadian ferns, after the manner of Moore and other European leaders in this comparatively new path. The elasticity, or proneness to variation, of the species in certain groups of animals and plants has been somewhat rashly used to account for the origin of species, by what is called the process of variation. It seems to tell all the other way. Innumerable as are the grotesque variations of ferns, in forkings, and frillings, and tassellings, and abnormal vein- ings, &c. (see the figures in Moore’s works), we do not know of a single species in which such peculiarities have become permaneut or general, that is specific, so that the species can be traced back to such an origin ; surely something of the kind would have happened had all species originated by a process of variation. Tabular View of the Distribution of Canadian Ferns and Allied Plants over certain parts of the Northern Hemisphere.* I, WT. | 10. | Iv V Name. 3 5 gi - Bi) 8 pc 3 go| aa Ss + Bi | 1) SS ee ee aay Oo 2) | | es ne) POLYPODIACE, 1. Polypodium vulgare, + ane ie cue) Ors: Eu 2. P. hexagonopterum, . + arth steele te 3. P. Phegopteris, + + C.B.| Eu. G. 4. P. Dryopteris, . + ae C.B.' Eu. Am.G, | * In the above Table, the doubtful species are included; but all reference to varieties is omitted. NEW SERIES,—VOL. XIX. NO. I.— JANUARY 1864, fa) 106 Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. NAME. P. Robertianum, . . Adiantum pedatum, . Pteris aquilina, . Pellea atropurpurea, . . Allosorus Stelleri, . Cryptogramma acrostichoides, W.W. . Struthiopteris germanica, . Onoclea sensibilis, . Asplenium Trichomanes, . viride, . angustifolium, . ebeneum, . marinum, ‘ . thelypteroides, . Montanum, . . Ruta-muraria, . > p> > > b> Pp b> . Athyrium Filix-feemina, . Woodwardia virginica, . Scolopendrium vulgare, . Camptosorus rhizophyllus, . Lastrea dilatata, : . marginalis, . . Filix-mas, . cristata, . . Goldieana, . . fragrans, . Thelypteris, . Noy-Eboracensis, . Set eed eet lease . Polystichum angulare, . P. Lonchitis, . P. acrostichoides, . . Cystopteris fragilis, - C. bulbifera, . Dennsteedtia punctilobula, . Woodsia Ilvensis, . W. alpina, . W. giabella, . W. obtusa, -. . Osmunda regalis, . . O. cinnamomea, . O. Claytoniana, . Schizea pusilla, lan A eee (ee end ~ s+: “2 Se ech et te gt tet HO Phe Ve V. Pekar ae this : ogio8| g oe) fase) 2 ee Ao |e) ey |e ae +o}. | CoB et a + | + |C.B.| Eu. + | + + sio's jon es 2 Am, ee al€ Eu. ae ahr eects + | + jC.B. Me ae hacer (Cel velo ope G} ale ate z a Fh eee ho meme | O81 By + | + SW Se ic + | + |C.B.; Eu. + | + | C338)” Bau. +) +]... cl ipa apensg tC OB PPM Ea Meh cy. + | -+ (CBI) Bu. Am. Oak sete | site, fCHB a te AG + CB. ae ae at eck al coe Ase AamanG: + | + |C.B. ai a eae ata + C.B. Eu. + |... |C.B./Eu.Am.G ae =f ee aie + | + {C.B. |Eu.Am.G +) + + | + a a. As + | + |CB. ‘ace G a C.B.| Eu. G aol ee Am. oF aie | ie + | + |C.B. +) + qe ae oP lh ices Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. 107 : i ee Oe aR, ES Eee oe RO eee” ERED aA? ST Ts Oo S> Sd : Go bo me SO © Hebe Se NaME. OPHIOGLOSSACEX, . Botrychium virginicum, . B. lunarioides, . MebrriNatia es . Ophioglossum vulgatum LycoPoDIACEZ. . Plananthus Selago, Pere wiMcIaulSs: con ks . P. alopecuroides, . Poesinundatus, . . Lycopodium clavatum, . L. annotinum, . . L. dendroideum, . L. complanatum, . . Selaginella spinulosa, . Stachygynandrum rupestre, . . Diplostachyum apodum, . MaRSILEACE, . Azolla caroliniana, . Salvinia natans, . Isoetes lacustris, EQuISETACE. . Equisetum sylvaticum, . umbrosum, . . arvense, . Telmateja, . . limosum, . hyemale, : FODUSHUM, ~“.-6. Ga . HE. variegatum, . E. scirpoides, . . E. palustre, oo At + Canada. A . oN) ~ + sf oe Sag Soe Et ce 4 + op aka ses ce | 0 see Past ae\35 + | + +) + + | + + | + +] + +] + + | + +) + +] 4+ +) + + | + +] 4+ + | + + |) + + | + Hier eee + | +4 fe + + 4 + ob a oe + a | | Kurope. tt Eu. G. .|Eu.Am.G. J Eu. Eu. As. || wring Se Eu. Eu. Eu. Am.?| G. Eu. As. Am. G. Eu. Am, 108 Synopsis of Canadian Feris and Filicoid Plants. Nat. Ord. POLYPODIACEA. PonyPoDiuM. P. vulgare, Linn.—F rond linear-oblong or somewhat lanceolate, more or less acuminate, deeply pinnatifid, in some forms almost pinnate ; lobes (or pinnz) linear-oblong, obtuse, often acute, rarely acuminate, entire or crenate or serrate ; sori large ; very variable as regards outline of the frond, form, &c., of the lobes, and serrature. P. vulgare, Linn., A. Gray, Moore, &c. P. virginianum of English gardens. P. vulgare, var. americanum, Hook., Torrey Fl. N. Y., ii. 480.—On rocks in the woods, not rare around the city of Kingston; abundant on the rocky banks of the St Lawrence, in Pittsburg ; in the woods at Collins’s Bay ; and on Judge Malloch’s farm, a mile west from Brockville ; Gananoque lakes and rivers; Farmersville ; Newboro-on-the-Rideau ; Toronto; on the great boulder of the Trent Vailey, near Trenton ; on rocks west from Brockville, outcrop of Potsdam Sandstone at Oxford, and Hull moun- tains near Chelsea, C.H., B. Billings, jr.; near Gatineau Mills, D. M‘Gillivray, M.D.; Monnt Johnson, C.K., and Niagara River, P. W. Maclagan, M.D.; Brighton, in the crevice of a rock in a field, and abundant on rocky banks, right bank of the Moira, above Belleville, J. Macoun; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M‘Morine, M.A.; north-west from Granite Point, Lake Superior, R. Bell, jr.; mountain top, near Mr Brydge’s house, Hamilton, C.W., Judge Logie; River Rouge and lower end of Gut Lake, W.S. M. D’Urban ; Cape Haldimand, Gaspé, John Bell, B.A. ; Red River Settlement, Governor M‘Tavish; Pied du cap Tourmente, M. L’Abbé Provancher; L’Orignal and Grenville, C.H., J. Bell, B.A. The habitats above cited show that although this fern is not so common in Canada as in Britain, it is nevertheless widely distributed. It is com- mon in New York State, according to Professor Torrey; and in the Northern States generally, according to Professor Asa Gray; rarer in the South, according to Dr Chapman. P., hexagonopterum, Mich.—Frond triangular in outline, acuminate, pinnate, hairy throughout; pinne broadly lanceolate, pinnatifid ; lowest pair of pinnee larger than the others, not deflexed ; lobes of the pinne linear-oblong or lanceolate, strongly toothed, or almost pinnatifid. The decurrent pinne have a tendency to form conspicuous irregular angled wings along the rachis. Stipe not scaly except at the base. Rhizome long, slender, ramifying. Whole plant much larger than P. Phegopteris, and quite a different species. P. hexagonopterum, Michx., A. Gray, &ce, The figure in Lowe’s Ferns, vol. i. p. 143, tab. 49, is a little too much like Phegopteris. P. Phegopteris y..majus, Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer., ii. p. 258. Hooker’s 8. intermedia of Phegopteris is connectile, Willd., which A. Gray refers to P. Phegopteris, L. Phegopteris hewagonoptera, J. Sm, Cat., p. 17.—Canada, Goldie in Hook. Fl. B. Amer. ; Chippawa, ©. W., P. W. Maclagan, M.D.; Mirwin’s Woods, near Prescott, rare, B. Billings, jr.; near Westminster Pond, London, W. Saunders. Not by any means so general in Canada as in New York State, where, Pro- fessor lorrey states, it is common. Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. 109 P, Phegopteris, Linn.— Frond acutely triangular in outline, acumi- nate, pinnate; the pinne linear-lanceolate, pinnatifid, lowest pair de- flexed ; lobes of the pinne oblong, scythe-shaped, obtuse, approximate, entire ; rachis hairy and minutely scaly to the apex of the frond, as well as the mid-ribs of the pinne. P. Phegopteris, Linn., A. Gray, Moore, &e. Phegopteris vulgaris, J. Sm. P. connectile, Michx., Pursh FI. Am. Sept., ed. 2, vol. ii. p. 659.—Canada, Hooker; Black Lead Falls and De Salaberry, west line, W. S. M. D’Urban; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M‘Morine, M.A.; Nicolet, P. W. Maclagan, M.D.; Prescott, damp woods, not common, Osgood Station of the Ottawa and Prescott Rail- way, also Gloucester, near Ottawa, growing on the side of a ravine, and Chelsea, C.E., B. Billings, Jr; opposite Grand Island, Lake Superior, R. Bell, jr.; L’Orignal and Harrington, J. Bell, B.A. P. Dryopteris, Linn.—F rond thin, light-green, pentangular in outline, consisting of three divaricate triangular subdivisions, each of which is pinnate, with its pinne more or less deeply pinnatifid ; pinnules oblong, obtuse, nearly entire; stipe slender and weak, not glandulose. P. Dry- opteris, Linn., A. Gray, Moore, &c. Phegopteris Dryoptcris, J. Sm. Abundant in the woods around Kingston; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M‘Morine, M.A. ; very common in woods about Prescott, B. Billings, jr.; Montreal and Nicolet Rivers, C.E., P. W. Maclagan, M.D.; Belleville, common in the woods, J. Macoun; opposite Grand Island, Lake Superior, R. Bell, jr.; River Rouge, Round Lake, Montreal, De Salaberry, west line, and Black Lead Falls, W. S. M. D’'Urban; Newfoundland, La- brador; Somerset and St Joachim, M. L’Abbé Provancher; L’Orignal, J. Bell, B.A. Var. 8. erectum.—Frond erect, rigid, with a very stout and very long glabrous stipe (18 inches long) ; beech woods at Collins’s Bay, near King- ston, with the normal form. This variety resembles P. Robertianwm in general aspect, but is not at all glandulose. P. Robertianum, Hoffman.—A stouter plant than P. Dryopteris ; fronds more rigid and erect; rachis, &c, closely beset with minute- stalked glands. P. Robertianwm, Hoffman, Moore, &c. P. calcareum, Sm. P. Dryopteris, var. calcareum, A. Gray.—Canada, Moore and other authors; United States, Gray and others. This species is com- monly spoken and written of as a Canadian Fern. Not having had an opportunity of seeing Canadian specimens, I cannot cite special habitats. The minutely glandulose rachis serves at once to distinguish it. ADIANTUM. A. pedatum, Linn.—Stipe black and shining, erect, forked at top, the forks secundly branched, the branches bearing oblique triangular- oblong pinnules. A. pedatwm, Linn., A. Gray, &c., Lowe’s Ferns, vol. iii. pl. 14. Abundant in vegetable soil in the woods around King- ston ; woods around the iron mines at Newboro-on-the- Rideau; Farmers- ville; Toronto; Montreal, Chippawa, Wolfe Island, and Malden, P. W. Maclagan, M.D.; Belleville, in rich woods, abundant, J. Macoun; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M‘Morine, M.A.; Ke-we-naw Point, R. Bell, jr. ; at the Sulphur Spring, and common everywhere about Hamilton, Judge 110 Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. Logie ; Lake Huron, Hook. Fl. B. A.; De Salaberry, west line, W. 8S. M. D’Urban; on the Gatineau, near Gilmour’s rafting ground, D. M‘Gillivray, M.D.; London, W. Saunders; St Joachim and Isle St Paul, Montreal, M. L’Abbé Provancher ; West Hawkesbury and Gren- ville, C.E., J. Bell, B.A. Apparently common everywhere in Upper Canada. I cannot speak so definitely of the Lower Province. This is one of our finest Canadian ferns; ‘‘the most graceful and delicate of North American ferns,” says Torrey. It is easily cultivated. Fine as it is in the Canadian woods, J have specimens even more handsome from Schooley’s Mountains (A. O. Brodie, Ceylon Civil Service) ; their fan- like fronds spread out in a semicircle, with a radius of 24 feet. It is not a variable species in Canada. T. Moore, in “ Index Filicum,” gives its distribution as N. and N.W. America, California to Sitka, North India, Sikkim, Nepal, Gurwhal, Simla, Kumaon, Japan. There is a var. 6. aleuticwm, Rupr., in the Aleutian Islands. PTeERIs. Pt. aqguilina, Linn.—Stipe stout, 1 to 3 feet high, frond ternate, branches bipinnate, pinnules oblong lanceolate, sori continuous under their recurved margins. Pt. aquilina, Linn., A. Gray, Moore, &c.—Abundant on Dr Yates’s farm in Pittsburg, and elsewhere about Kingston ; Water- down Road, Hamilton, common, Judge Logie; Chippawa and Malden, C.W., P. W. Maclagan, M.D.; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M‘Morine, M.A., Prescott, common, B. Billings, jr.; Belleville, very common on barren ridges, J. Macoun; Grand Island, Lake Superior, R. Bell, jr.; Red Lake River, also between Wild Rice and Red Lake Rivers, and Otter ‘Tail Lake and River, between Snake Hill River and Pembina, &c., J. C. Schultz, M.D.; Black Lead Falls, and Portage to Bark Lake, W.S. M. D’Urban; Gatineau Mills, very common, D. M‘Gillivray, M.D.; Lakefield, North Douro, Mrs Traill; New Brunswick, Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer.; L’Orignal, J. Bell, B.A.; London, W. Saunders. a. verd.—Pinnules pinnatifid (the normal or typical form of Moore), Dr Yates’s farm, Kingston, (6. integerrima.—Pinnules entire (a sub-variety), common in Canada and westward. ‘There are various other sub-varieties, differing in size, pubescence, &c. y. deciptens.—Frond bipinnate, thin and membranous, lanuginose, pinnules pinnatifidly toothed, or, in small forms, entire, barren; L’ Anse a Cabiélle, Gaspé, John Bell, B.A. This is a very remarkable fern, resembling a Lastrea, and in the absence of fructification, it is doubt- fully referred to Pieris aquilina, yet the venation seems to indicate that it belongs to that species, which is remarkable for its puzzling forms. Being at a loss what to make of this fern, I sent it to Mr D. C. Katon, M.A., who is justly looked up to by American botanists as our best authority on American ferns, and he likewise failed to recognise it. I hope some visitor to Gaspé will endeavour to obtain it in a fertile state, and thus relieve the doubt.* * Since the above was written, I have had an opportunity of studying the forms and development of Pteris aquilina, and am quite satisfied that the doubtful plant is a state of that species, not old enough to be fertile. Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. 111 [Var. 6. caudata appears occasionally in lists. I have as yet no satisfactory evidence of its occurrence in Canada proper. The nearest approach to it is aspecimen from the Hudson’s Bay territories, probably from the Red River District (Governor M‘“Tavish). In the South it isa very distinct form, of which there are beautiful specimens in Wright’s Cuban Plants (No. 872), and is very close to the Péeris esculenta of Australia. | PELLAA. P. atropurpurea, Link.—Stipe and rachis almost black, shining, 6 to 12 inches high, frond coriaceous, pinnate, divisions opposite, linear- oblong or somewhat oval. Pteris atropurpurea, Linn. Platyloma atrop., J.Sm., Torr Fl. N. Y., ii. p. 488. Allosorus atropurpurecus, A. Gray. Pellea atropurpurea, Link., Fée, J. Sm. in Cat., Katon.— Niagara River, at the Whirlpool, three miles below the Falls. This fern seems to retain its fronds all winter, for I have fertile specimens, in a fine state, collected at the Whirlpool at the end of February 1859 by A. O. Brodie. Dr P. W. Maclagan has also collected it there. It is not common anywhere on the American Continent so far as I can learn. Mr Lowe speaks of it as in cultivation in Britain, “an evergreen frame or greenhouse species, not sufficiently hardy to stand over winter’s cold.” There must be some other reason for want of success in its cultivation in Britain. ALLOSORUS. A. Stellert, Ruprecht.—Fronds pale-green, thin and papery, 3 to 9 inches long, bipinnate or tripinnate, some of the smaller barren fronds scarcely more than pinnate; pinne five or six pairs; lobes of the barren frond, rounded, oval, veiny; of the fertile frond, much narrower, linear- lanceolate, firmer ; sori at the tips of the forked veins along the margins, stipe red, whole plant glabrous. A beautiful and delicate fern, growing in the crevices of rocks, rare. Allosorus Stelleri, Ledeb. Fl. Rossica. Allosorus gracilis, Presl., A. Gray, Torrey Fl. N. Y. ii. p. 487. In a letter from Mr T. Moore (1857), he mentioned to me that he had learned from specimens from Dr Regel, St Petersburg, that ‘‘ the North American Allosorus gracilis was the old Pteris Stellert of Amman, so that it spreads from North America through Siberia to India, whence Dr Hooker has it.” Allosorus minutus, Turez. Pl. Exs. Cheilanthes gracius, Kif. Cryptogramma gracilis, Torrey. Pteris Stellerit, Gmelin. Pterts minuta, Turez. Cat. Pl. Baik. Dah. Pt. gracilis, Michaux.— Near Lakefield, North Douro, C.W., on rocks, Mrs Traill ; abundant in crevices of limestone rocks, on the rocky banks of the Moira, Belleville, Co. Hastings, J. Macoun; Lake of Three Mountains, W.S. M. D’Urban; Canada to the Saskatchewan, Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. ; Dartmouth, Gaspé, John Bell, B.A. This is a northern species, and rare in the United States. CRYPTOGRAMMA, C. acrostichoides, R. Br.—‘‘ Remarkable for its sporangia extending far down on the oblique veins, so as to form linear lines of fruit.” I 112 Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. have not seen the plant. It is referred by Sir William Hooker to Allosorus crispus (A. Gr. in Enum. of Dr Parry’s Rky. Mtn. Plants). Cryptogramma acrostichoidcs, R. Br., Moore. Allosorus acrosticho:des, A. Gr.—Isle Royale, Lake Superior. Placed in Dr Hooker’s Table as a Canadian species that does not extend into the United States. It has recently been found on the Rocky Mountains. Allosorus crispus is general throughout Europe, and occurs at Sitka, in North-West America. Mr Moore observes that the Hastern (Indian) species, A. Brunoniana, is very doubtfully distinct from the European plant. STRUTHIOPTERIS. S. germanica var. 8 pennsylvanica.—Rhizome stout, erect ; fronds tufted ; sterile ones large pinnate, erect-spreading, deeply pinnatifid ; the fertile ones erect, rigid, with revolute contracted divisions, wholly covered on the back by sporangia. A very graceful fern, well suited for cuitiva- tion in gardens. Struthiopteris pennsylvanica, Willd., Pursh, J. Sm. Cat. SS. germanica, Hooker, Torrey Fl. N. Y. ii. p. 486, Gray. Os- munda Struthiopteris, Linn. ; Onoclea Struthiopteris, Schkr. ; Onoclea nodulosa, Schkr., according to Hooker. Torrey refers O. nodulosa, Michx., to Woodwardia angustifolia.—Frankville, Kitley ; Longpoint ; Lansdowne ; Hardwood Creek; usually found along the margins of creeks, &c.; common in rich, wet woods near Prescott, and abundant around Ottawa, B. Billings, jr.; low rich grounds, Belleville, abundant along Cold Creek, J. Macoun; Re-we-naw Point, Lake Superior, in low ground, at times under water, R. Bell, jr.; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M‘Morine, M.A.; near Lakefield, North Douro, Mrs Traill; field beyond Waterdown, Hamilton, Judge Logie; Osnabruck and Prescott Junction, Rev. E. M. Epstein; near Montreal, W.S. M. D’Urban ; Assiniboine River, John C. Schultz, M.D. ; Canada, to the Saskatchewan, Hook. Fl. Bor. A.; Pied du Tourmente, M. L’Abbé Provancher. This is the commonest plant in the Bedford Swamps; Gaspé and L’Orignal, J. Bell, B.A.; London, W. Saunders. Found in the western part of New York State, but rare according to Torrey. ONOCLEA. O. sensibilis, Linn.—Rhizome creeping; barren frond broad, leafy, deeply pinnatifid ; fertile ones erect, spicate, contracted, doubly pinnate, with small revolute pinnules, enclosing the sporangia, not at all leafy. Onoclea sensibilis, Linn., A. Gr., J. Sm., &c. Lowe’s Ferns, vol. vi. pl. 1.—In woods along the banks of the Little Cataraqui Creek in great abundance, and in moist swampy places in the woods in various other places about Kingston ; west end of Loborough Lake; Becancour, M. L’ Abbé Provancher ;- London, W. Saunders; common in marshy ground at Hamilton, Judge Logie; Lakefield, North Douro, Mrs Traill; St John’s, C. E., Niagara and Malden, P. W. Maclagan, M.D.; Belle- ville, in low marshy places, abundant, J. Macoun; Ramsay, Rev. J. K. M‘Morine, M.A.; Amagos Creek, Lake Superior, R. Bell, jr.; Prescott, common, B. Billings, jr.; on the river shore, Gatineau Mills, D. M‘Gillivray, M.D.; L’Anse au Cousin, Gaspé and L’Orignal, J. Bell ; Nova Scotia. This curious fern has been cultivated in England since Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. 118 1699; at Kew, since 1793. It is very variable as regards the outline and subdivision of the barren frond. Var. 8. bipinnata.— Fronds bipinnate ; perhaps not a constant form. Fertile fronds of this variety originated the O. obtustlobata, Schkr. Péche River, and near Cantley, Hull, D. M‘Gillivray, M.D. ASPLENIOM, A. Trichomanes, Linn.—Frond small, narrow, linear, pinnate; pinne roundish-oblong or oval, oblique, almost sessile, crenate: rachis blackish brown, shining, margined; sori distant from the midrib. doubtful to the beginner, in 4 pages, what he has just before satisfactorily proved (by general reasoning) in 8 lines. 142 Reviews and Notices of Books. § 41, as it stands, is simply untrue. It requires most copious and careful limitations, which are not even hinted at in the text. In § 45 we find another of these cases of rash assertion (about the attraction of spheres)—requiring a great amount of unsupplied qualification. To mention but one more serious blunder—we find that water zs a non-elastic fluid! (p. 47.) Shades of Canton and Oerstedt, have your discoveries come to this? Is not elasticity the tendency of a compressed or distorted body to recover its volume or form when the disturbing cause is removed? Is not water compressible, and perfectly elastic ? The Philosophy of Geology: a brief Review of the Aim, Scope, and Character of Geological Inquiry. By Davin Pach: FBS E.) EGS.) 12mo.. Rpirloo,) yam Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1863. The object of this work is to direct attention to some of the higher aims of geological science, to the principles which ought to guide geologists in their generalisations, and to what may be ultimately anticipated of geology in her true and onward pro- gress. ‘‘ The philosophy of geology is the study of the structural arrangement and composition of this earth, the causes that have produced this structure and arrangement, the laws by which this causation is upheld, and the comprehension of the whole in time as constituting a continuous and intelligible world history.’ The author first discusses the objects of inquiry, defines what geology is, and shows that speculations as to the origin of the earth are inadmissible. ‘‘ Geology is but the physical geceraphy of former ages, Every rock system retains some evidence of the conditions of its period; and the determination of these conditions, the causes that produced them, and the life by which they were accompanied, is the spirit and purport of geology.” Certain forces have been called into play, in order to produce geological changes on the globe, and these forces act according to uniform natural laws, so that we are enabled in some measure to argue from the present as to what took place in the past. At the same time we must bear in mind that over limited areas cataclysmal phenomena occur, — depending on earthquakes, volcanoes, or floods, which may inter- fere with our reasonings, and which show the necessity of being cautious in our inductions. We must beware of the error of those who say that all things continue as they were from the creation, and that nothing has been done per saltum. Floods and convulsions have occurred, and local phenomena may present Reviews and Notices of Books. 143 themselves which we cannot account for, and which, in the mean- time, we must be content to leave unexplained. In referring to theories of the earth, the author remarks :— “The philosophy of our science is thus neither to ignore nor re- ject hypotheses, but merely to receive them as tentative processes and provisional aids towards the attainment of veritable theory. . . . » Granting the value of hypotheses in occasionally directing the way to a solution of our problems, it cannot be denied that indulgence in speculation has been the great bane of geology. wet The earlier progress of geological inquiry was encumbered by its absurdities, which would have been simply ridiculous but for the discredit they attached to the science, and the obstacles they threw in the way of its acceptance, There is nothing so easy as generalisation, where the facts are few; nothing more difficult than adherence to a course of induction where the field of observation is wide, and the facts numerous and complicated. On this ground the many ‘theories of the earth’ that prevailed towards the end of last century and the beginning of the present, are in some degree excusable ; but now that geology has taken her proper place among the natural sciences, all such attempts should meet with the most steadfast discountenance and reprobation.” The subjects of the Direction of Drifts, Chemical Formation, Metamorphism, Mineral Veins, &c., are discussed. The author points out that in regard to them there are many difficult pro- blems in geology still to be solved. The question of Time as a factor in geology is considered; and it is shown that while we admit a prodigious amount of geological time, we have no means of approximating to its duration. Calculations founded on the deposit made by rivers of the present day are very fallacious. All that can be done at present is to arrange the stratified forma- tions into systems, groups, and series, each section representing a relative but inadequate amount of time, but occupying its own proper chronological position, A proper nomenclature and classi- fication of formations is an important object, and in this point of view palzontology has done great service. At the same time, | there can be no doubt that much remains to be done in these de- partments. Geologists have often drawn very rash conclusions from fossil specimens, both as regards their nature and the indi- cations which they afforded of soil and climate. A deficient knowledge of the zoology and botany of the present epoch is one great cause of geological error. The following remarks of Mr Page deserve attention :— ‘“ While we must admit the vast benefits conferred on our science by paizontology, let us take care that we are not mis- led by the dicta of its earlier cultivators into beliefs which are at variance with the known principles of biology and physical geo- 144 Reviews and Notices of Books. graphy, and which extended observation in geology refuses to confirm. As a general maxim, it is true that the most trust- worthy tests of the sequence of the stratified systems are the fossil organisms which these systems contain. It is also true, that over limited tracts like Britain, or even over the area of Europe, con- temporaneous deposits are characterised by the same fossil spe- cies ; but it may not be true that the same species never recur at more stages than one in the same formation, nor may it be true that formations containing the same species in widely separated regions are strictly contemporaneous. The truth is, there has been a tendency of late to carry the argument of fossil evidence beyond its legitimate limits. Under the change of external con- ditions, @ species—-say a marine one—may gradually shift its ground many degrees south or north, and so become extinct in its original area, and yet, after hundreds of feet of sediment had been deposited on that area, a reversal of conditions may occur, and establish the species once more on its primal habitat. We would thus have the same species occurring at two different stages of the same great formation, separated, it may be, by some thousands of years in time, though only by a few hundred feet of sediment. Again, under the slow oscillation of sea and land, species terrestrial and marine may have been gradually transferred from the latitudes and longitudes of Hurope to the latitudes and longitudes of America; and thousands of years after they had become fossil in the eastern hemisphere, they may have been flourishing in the western.” After considering the appearance of life on the globe, the author calls attention to the theory of Progression, and more espe- cially discusses the Darwinian views as to external condition, embryonic phases, use and disuse of organs and natural se- lection, and he concludes that all these “are but subordinate factors of one great law, and that we must know much more of the forms that have become extinct, and more of the variations that are now taking place in existing plants and animals before we can hope to approach the solution of the all-important probiem.” The origin of man naturally becomes a matter of consideration. On this point the author says:— “ Whatever be the plan of development, it must of necessity embrace the whole scheme of vitality. There can be no severance in the great creational idea of life; and whatever theory be adopted, it must be applicable alike to every constituent member of the system. The highest as well as the lowest, man as well as the monad, forms part and parcel of one continuous evolution ; and whatever the ordainings of the past, they exist in the present, and must operate in the future. If by any genetic law the radiata have given birth to the articulata, the articulata to the mollusca, and the mollusca to the vertebrata—nay,.were it only the great Reviews and Notices of Books. 145 sections of the vertebrata that were so genetically connected—the fishes giving rise to the reptiles, the reptiles to the birds, and the. birds to the mammals,—still this would be sufficient to prove man’s inseparable association with the same scheme of develop- ment. Whatever may be the law that determines the origination of other species, to the same law must we ascribe the origin of man. Philosophy has no alternative. Science has nothing to gain, but everything to lose, by the adoption of any other opinion. We must look, therefore, for man’s precursor in the order that stands next beneath him in the zoological scale; and wide as the gap may appear, we may suppose it either bridged over by inter- mediate forms that became extinct during the tertiary period, or, if the rate of ascent be more rapid in the higher than in the lower orders, to have been passed over per saltum, or at most by the intervention of very few such intermediate species. But though one form be descended from another—the higher from the next lower in the scale of creation—such descent differs widely from that of ordinary generation, inasmuch as qualities unknown in the lower form begin to manifest themselves in the higher. Whence then, these newer qualities and higher functions? Clearly, not from the predecessor, who did not possess them; not from the law, which is simply a mode of operation ; but from the Lawgiver, who ordained and continues to sustain the method of development, Similar as the framework of the monkey may be to that of man —nay, were it a hundred times more closely resembling—yet every superaddition of reason, gift of speech, moral feeling, and religious sentiment in man, is in reality a new creation—a crea- tion as special as if it had proceeded from the audible ‘ Let it be’ of the Creator. To the devout and philosophic mind the secondary law of causation is the great ‘ Let it be,’ ever ringing through nature as audibly as on the morning of its primal utter- ance.” Our author, therefore, is opposed to the views of those who think that man is merely an ennobled ape, and that he has a Simian origin. The advocates of this opinion say, that because the lowest ape does not differ from the highest ape in the confor- mation of its skeleton more than does the highest ape from man, therefore man was originally an ape. This, in our opinion, is a complete non sequitur. These statements would merely show that the Creator, in forming animals and man, followed a great type, and that out of a small amount of materials He moulded all the varied forms seen in the animal creation. It shows unity of design and wonderful wisdom. But animals have other charac- teristics than their bony skeleton affords, and so has man. We must consider their anatomy in a physiological point of view, and then we shall at once see marked and evident distinctions. On the question of the Antiquity of Man, our author, while he NEW SERIES,—VOL. XIX. NO. 1.—JANUARY 1864. T 146 Reviews and Notices of Books. does not agree with Lyell as to the enormous lapse of time since man’s appearance on earth, is disposed to believe that man is older than is generally allowed in the received chronology. “* Admitting the same genetic law for the human race as for the rest of animated nature—and, philosophically speaking, there is no other course left for the adoption of science—the question next arises, At what period of the geological scale did man make his appearance? . . . So far as research has been prosecuted in the different quarters of the globe—and at the outset it must be con- fessed how insignificant the area that has been examined—no re- mains of man or of his works have been discovered till we come to the lake-silts, the peat-mosses, the river-gravels, and the cave- earths of the Post-tertiary period. In these have been detected. tree canoes and stone hatchets, rude implements of flint and bone, the embers of the fires he kindled, and occasional fragments of his own skeleton. As yet these have been chiefly discovered within the limited area of southern and western Europe, and we have scarcely any information from the corresponding deposits of other regions. ‘Till these other regions shall have been examined—and especially Asia, where man historically flourished long prior to his civilisation in Europe—it were premature to hazard any opinion as to man’s first appearance on the globe. But taking the facts such as geology finds theni—viz., the occurrence of stone implements in conjunction with the remains of Irish-deer, mam- moth, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, cave-lion, and other creatures long since extinct in Europe, and this in deposits of considerable geological antiquity—it is evident that man has been an inhabi- tant of the globe much longer than is popularly believed. It is true that the antiquity of some of the containing deposits, espe- cially the river-drifts, is open to question, and it is also quite possible that the remains of the extinct quadrupeds may in some instances have been reassorted from older accumulations; but even allowing for these, geologists have sufficient in the valley- deposits of France and England, the caves of southern and western Kurope, and the lake-silts of the same area, to convince every mind capable of appreciating the evidence, that mankind has ex- isted even there (to say nothing of Asia) long antecedent to the time assigned by the patristic chronologers as the date of his creation. “But while the nature of the deposits, their situation, and their mode of formation, indicate the lapse of many thousand years (estimating by the usual modes of geological computation), we must be careful not to run into the opposite extreme, and conjure up ages of fabulous duration. Historically we have no means of arriving at the age of these deposits; geologically we can only approximate the time by comparison with existing opera- tions ; while palzontologically it must be borne in mind that the Reviews and Notices of Books. 147 associated animals are among the most recently extinct or exter- minated. Itis a sound maxim in paleontology, that the more ancient any specific form is, the more widely it differs from exist- ing species of the same genus. Structural variation is, in fact, the measure of antiquity...... “In dealing, then, with the antiquity of man, we have both its lithological and paleontological, and to some extent also its his- torical, aspects to consider, before we can arrive at any truly phi- losophical conclusion. Lithologically, we see that great changes have taken place in the physical geography of the districts where human remains have been discovered, and the deposits in which they occur are frequently also of considerable thickness, and of a nature that implies slow and gradual accumulation. As geolo- gists, we may feel convinced that more than six or eight thousand years have elapsed since their formation, but how much more, we have, in the present state of our science, no means of definitely determining. Palzontologically, we perceive that other animals whose remains are associated with those of man do not differ very widely from species still existing, and are therefore constrained to oppose that enormous antiquity which some geologists are dis- posed to contend for. Historically, all is silent on the subject of these remains; but while the mammoth and rhinoceros may have died out of Europe within the last five or six thousand years without attracting the notice of the rude inhabitants, the present state of human civilization seems incompatible with such a brief period as five or six thousand years for its development,” We certainly must differ from our author as to the antiquity of man. Whatever may be said in regard to animals and plants, we ean have no doubt as to the creation of man, and we have scrip- tural data which certainly seem to fix his appearance on earth within tolerably definite limits, We think that geologists are completely at sea on this subject, and want data on which to found their con- clusions. The author recommends in other parts of his work cau- tious induction and a sifting of facts, and we would apply to him in this case the exhortation which he gives to others. No doubt he does not give a decided statement,—his trumpet here gives an uncertain sound, and he feels the necessity of treading warily on ground whichmay ere long be found to yield under his feet. Those who advocate progressive development, and the transmutation of the ape into man, find great difficulty in setting aside the state- ments of the Bible as to man’s creation, and hence they are glad to lay hold of any speculation as to man’s antiquity which they think will throw discredit on the sacred volume, and put it out of the category of a Divine and truthful record. Hence the avidity with which the so-called facts as to the antiquity of man are seized hold of. Already, however, the Darwinian hypothesis has been attacked by able naturalists and geologists such as Flourens and 148 Reviews and Notices of Books. Dawson, and the foundations on which the Lyellian speculations as to man have been based are tottering. There is great doubt and uncertainty among geologists, and we are satisfied that much remains to be done. At the same time we feel sure, that, as in all former cases, Science and Revelation will be found not to be at variance, and the attempt to throw distrust on the Bible record will fail. The future of this planet is considered by Mr Page in his work, and he refers to the changes which may be expected to occur ere this state of things comes to an end, and a new race of beings people the earth. As to the future of this world ‘“‘ The Philsosphy of Geology ’’ cannot give us information ; but we know from an un- erring testimony that “ the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment; ” and that “ the heavens shall pass away with a ereat noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein, shall be burned up; ”’ and that we are to ‘look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter i.) Here, then, is a prophesied cataclysm, a per saltum occurrence totally inconsistent with the progressive-development theory, the supporters of which tell us that “no cataclysm has desolated the whole world, and that we may look with some confidence to a secure future of equally inappreciable length,” in which, “judging from the past, we may infer safely that not one living species will transmit its unaltered likeness to a distant futurity.” : We have perused Mr Page’s clear and interesting volume with much interest. It gives a comprehensive view of the actual state of the science of geology, and contains valuable suggestions as to the future prosecution of it. It brings before the student the difficulties which stand in his way—the danger of rash specula- tion—and the need of accurate data, before drawing conclusions regarding the lithological and paleontological history of our globe. Differing as we do from the author in some particulars, still the cautiousness with which he makes his statements in regard to controverted points, will, we doubt not, show to the young observer that he must not be led away at once by the theories of those geologists who have shown a disposition to dogmatise on these matters. We are all too apt “jurare in verba magistri,” and anything which makes us doubt the theories given ex cathedra, may be useful in making us sift the points for ourselves and inves- tigate fully the data whence conclusions may have been rashly drawn. We must examine carefully and observe accurately before we can theorize. We think that the book will be valuable to young and local observers, by showing them the work to be done, the mode in which it is to be done, and the doubtful speculations which beset their path. Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 149 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. Botanical Society of Edinburgh. Thursday, 12th November 1863.—Professor Macuacan, President, in the Chair. His Royal Highness Prince Alfred was elected by acclamation an Honorary Fellow of the Society. The President delivered an opening Address. The following Communications were read :— I. Notes on the Fertilisation of Orchids. By Wu. Rutuerrorp, M.D. (This paper appears in the present number of this Journal.) Il. Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. By Professor Lawson. (This paper appears in the present number of this Journal.) Ill. Notes on some New and Rare British Mosses, and on the Occurrence of Trichomanes radicans in the Island of Arran, Firth of Clyde. By Mr Joun Santer. Bryum Duvalii, Voit. Whilst lately engaged examining the genus Drywm in Dr Greville’s collection of Muscz, recently added to the University Herbarium, I came upon two barren specimens marked “ Brywim turbinatwm, Ben Voirlich, 1823.” On close examination, I found them to be the true Bryum Duvalu of Voit. The specimens were collected by Dr Greville himself ; thus he is the discoverer of the plant in Britain, having gathered it fully thirty years before the late Colonel Madden met with it near Waterford in Ireland, as recorded in the Society’s Transactions, vol. vii. p. 6. The following are the known British stations for this moss :— 1. Ben Voirlich, 1823. Dr Greville. 2. Near Waterford, Ireland, 1852. Colonel Madden. 3. Hart Fell, near Moffat, 1858. Dr William Nichol. 4. Helvellyn, 1859. Mr John Nowell. 5. Ben Lawers, 1860. Mr William Bell. Mnium stellare, Hedw. On the Ochils, near Bridge of Harn. August 1863. J.S. Grimmia leucophea, Grev. Rocks between Kinghorn and Pettycur. June 1863. J.S. Schistidium maritimum, B. et 8. Rocks between Kinghorn and Pettycur. June 1863. J.-S. Didymodon recurvifolius, Tayl. Ben Voirlich. 1863. Mr M‘Kinlay. Dicranum circinatum, Wils. Ben Voirlich. 1863. Mr M‘Kinlay. Glyphomitrium Daviesii, Schweg. Bowling Glen. May 1863. Mr Galt. 150 Proceedings of Societies. In a letter which I lately received from Mr John Robertson, Glasgow, he says :—‘‘ I have been to Glen Turret and Ben Chonzie, and the follow- ing are some of the few rarities I collected. A solitary tuft of Tortula tortuosa in fruit, on Ben Chonzie; Bryum roseum, but not with capsules. In a fruiting state I found Oligotrichum hercynicum, Tetraplodon mioides, Splachnum ampullaceum, 8. sphericum, Encalypta ciliata, Climacium dendroides, &c.” Mr Sadler exhibited specimens of Trichomanes radicans which he had received from Mr Walter Galt, Glasgow, accompanied by the following note, dated 26th August 1863 :—“I enclose you fronds of Trichomanes radicans, collected by Mr George S. Combe in the Island of Arran, Firth of Clyde. It occurs in two separate patches, one of which is about 3 feet square, seemingly a natural habitat.” Thursday, 10th December 1863.—Professor Batrour, President, in the Chair. A letter was read from Major Cowell, conveying the thanks of H.R.H. Prince Alfred for his election as an Honorary Fellow of the Society. 1. Notice of the Occurrence of Polypodium caleareum, near Aberdeen. By Mr James Rozertson. Mr Robertson states that he had discovered this plant in August 1862, growing in the debris of a limestone quarry in Scotston Moor, near Aber- deen, along with P. Dryopteris. He was disposed to look upon the plant as being wildin that locality. Professor Dickie, however, believes that it has been introduced, and he has learned that a gentleman’s gardener in the neighbourhood was in the habit of planting ferns in waste places. Speci- mens of the plant were exhibited from the Scotston station. II. Account of the Vegetation of the Cliffs of Kilkee, County Clare, Ireland. By N. B. Warp, Esq. In compliance with Professor Balfour’s request, 1 send a brief account of the vegetation of the Cliffs of Kilkee, and its neighbourhood, which I visited last summer, in company with Professor and Mrs Harvey, and an old friend, Mr Sneil, with my daughter. During our stay, we visited Loophead, at the mouth of the Shannon, and an intermediate portion of the cliffs, on which Baltard Castle is situated. Five days were spent at Kilkee, one at Baltard Castle, and one at Loophead. The vegetation at the three places was so perfectly identical, as to lead us to the conclusion, that the same geological structure prevailed throughout, consisting of hard grits, shales, &c., a conclusion which was confirmed by a subsequent visit to Mr Jukes of Dublin. Kilkee is situated on the west coast of Ireland, exposed to the tide force of 2000 miles of unbroken seas,—the waves of which roll in with . such power, as to furnish abundant food to periwinkles, located on rocks 200 feet above high water-mark, and to supply the wants of marine plants which cover the summits of cliffs, varying in height from 150 to 400 feet. That physiological law by which plants, under adverse circumstances, produce their flower and fruit, if they can do nothing else, is here strikingly exemplified. Looking at the stunted character of the vegeta- tion, one might imagine oneself in a high alpine region—many species Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 151 not attaining more than a tenth or twelfth of their usual size. Thus we find here a number of plants, simulating the appearance of the inhabitants of alpine regions—e. g., Aster Tripolium, in full flower, from half an inch to an inch and a half in height ; and equally stunted, not starved, forms of Samolus Valerandi, Euphrasia officinalis, Jasione montana, Erythrea Centaurium, Ranunculus Flammula, &c. The higher portions of the cliffs are cushioned by continuous tufts of the common thrift, Armeria maritima, which, when in full flower, must be exceedingly beautiful. The lower grounds are carpeted by Anagallis tenella, Ranunculus Flam- mula, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, &c., whilst the hill sides are dotted with generally solitary plants of Erythrea Centauriwm, the broad-leaved variety ; the little ridges towards the sea are lined with Glauw mari- tima, the drier spots being covered with Radiola Millegrana, &c. The following is a list of all the plants which were seen in flower :— Ranunculus Flammula, in great abundance in wet places, towards the lower portion of the cliffs, in company with Anagallis tenella, Jun- cus bufonius, &c.; Silene maritima, Spergularia rubra, var. marina; Radiola Millegrana, on little elevated ridges; Polygala vulgaris, Po- tentilla Tormentilla, P. anserina, Sedum anglicum, the great ornament of exposed and bare rocks here and in many other parts of Ireland, from the beauty of its flower and the rich decaying tints of its foliage ; Aster Tripoliwm, many specimens in full flower, not an inch in height ; Bellis perennis, Achillea Millefolium, Senecio Jacobea, Carduus pra- tensis, Leontodon autumnale, Calluna vulgaris, very sparingly; EF. Tetra- liw, very sparingly ; Jasione montana, Campanula rotundifolia, Glaux marituma, coating the seaward face of the high ridges; Anagallis tenella, everywhere in moist places ; Samolus Valerandi, Euphrasia officinalis, rarely exceeding half an inch in height; Erythrea Centaurium, Thymus Serpyllum, Armeria maritima cushioning the whole of the upper surface of the cliffs; Plantago maritima, P. Coronopus, Juncus bufonius, Luzula campestris, Carex flava, Aira caryophyllea, withered; Melica cerulea, very sparingly. The paucity of grasses was remarkable. III. Notice of the Discovery of Fucus distichus, L., at Duggerna, County Clare, Ireland. By Professor Harvey. In a letter to Dr Greville, Professor Harvey says :— “In a summer excursion to Kilkee, last July, in company with N. B. Ward, we found what I take to be the true Fucus distichus of Linneus. I have ro authentic specimen of the Arctic plant, nor have I seen one, but the specimens exactly agree with the description of authors, as well as with the figures, though none of the latter do this plant justice. I enclose specimens for your herbarium. Unfortunately we were rather late in the season, and the fruit had mostly dropped off, leaving truncated branches. Some, however, were in fruit. I suppose it is in perfection either in winter or spring, and I mean, if I can manage it, to visit the station next Haster. ‘« It grows on-a remarkable rock facing the sea, near low water mark, but rising much above low water level—that is to say, the rock is at the outer edge of a long reef, but rises above the reef level. The fucus grows in patches on little ledges of the perpendicular side of the rock, along with Gigartina mamillosa, &c. It has quite a peculiar aspect when growing. ‘The stipes or base of stem is thick and rigid, and stands erect, while the fronds are just sufficiently limber to bend over, but not to lie flat, so that the patch looks like a miniature grove of weeping willows.” 152 Proceedings of Societies. In the University Herbarium (which now contains Dr Greville’s alga) there are specimens of Fucus distichus from Faroe, sent by Professor Hornemann, and from Newfoundland, sent by Bory in 1831, which appear to correspond with the Irish specimens. : IV. Notice of the Occurrence of Sagina nivalis (Lindblom), on Ben Lawers. By Professor Batrour. In October last, Mr J. T. Boswell Syme, wrote to me in the following terms :—‘‘ Will you be so kind as to look in your herbarium under Alsine rubelia, to see if you have got specimens of Sagina nivalis, Lindbl. Under this name, I have this plant with the following label from the Edinburgh Botanical Society, ‘ Alstne rubella, Ben Lawers, Perthshire, Aug. 25, 1847. Dr Balfour.’ I have come to the genus Sagina for the new edition of English Botany, and I feel great doubts as to whether or not I should include S. nivalis. Babington mentioned it in the third edition of his Manual, but omitted it from the fourth and fifth.”’ On exa- mining the plants in my herbarium and my duplicates, I found that three specimens of Sagina nivalis were fastened down on a sheet along with specimens of Alsine rubella. ‘The specimens of the former were put together and quite distinct from the latter, implying that I had looked upon them as peculiar. They are marked ‘ Ben Lawers, 1847,’ and they were gathered by me on the 25th August. There were only a few pupils with me, viz., Mr Charles Murchison, Mr F. J. Ivory, Mr Gilby, Mr Hewitson, Mr Hugh Balfour. Among my duplicates I could only detect two specimens remaining, one of which I sent to Professor Babington. I have no doubt that there are others which have been distributed, as a number of duplicates were contributed by me to the Society. In my notes of the excursion, I refer to our getting Alsine rubella, and from the indication given, I think that I know the particular locality. Babington refers to the plant as having been gathered on Glassmeal, by Mr Backhouse; and Hooker and Arnott, in the eighth edition of their ‘‘ British Flora,’’ mention Sagina nivalis as found in the Isle of Skye and Clova. They say that the plant is distinguished from S. subulata, by being almost quite glabrous. It is possible that their plant may be S. saxatilis. The genera Alsine and Sagina are very nearly allied. The chief characters are derived from the styles and valves of the capsule, which in Alsine are usually three, while in Sagina they are four or five. In Alsine rubella the sepals are distinctly 3-nerved, whereas in Sagina nivalis they are obscurely l-nerved. By this character the plants can be easily separated. I now show the original specimens gathered by me on Ben Lawers on 25th August 1847. The following are the characters of the plant as given by Fries :— Sagina nivalis, Lindbl. Caulibus cespitosis, foliis subulatis mucronatis glabris, pedunculis brevibus strictis, sepalis quinque ovatis obtusis mem- branaceo-marginatis petala integra vix equantibus. Lindbl. “ Bot. Not.,” 1845, p. 66; Fries, “Summa Veg. Scand.,” 156; Fries, ‘“ Nov. Mant.” iii. 31; Sagina intermedia, Ledebour ‘“ Flora Rossica,” i. 8339; Spergula saginoides, ®. nivalis, Lindbl. in ‘‘ Phys. Sallsk. Tidskr.,” 1838, p. 128 ; Arenaria cespitosa, “Fl. Dan.,” t. 2289. The plant is found in moist places of the Dovrefeld. Gathered by Lindblom at Sprenbacken in Kundsh6, above Kongsvold, and at Drivelven. It is a perennial, and flowers in August and September. The discoverer Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 153 of this plant states that it bears the same relation to Sagina sazatilis, - that Sagina stricta bears to S. procumbens. The species exhibits two forms, one congested and erect, the other lax, with elongated procumbent stalks. The petals are entire, while in Sagina sawatzlis they are slightly emarginate. Babington states that he has specimens from Fries in his Herb. Norm. (xii. 51) gathered by Blytt in the Dovrefeld in Norway. He also says: “Tt is to be remarked that Blytt finds it in Norway, Fenzl has it from the extreme north-east of Siberia, and Flora Danica from Greenland.” V. Remarks on Monecious Spikes of Maize. By Mr Joun Scorr. (This paper will appear in next number of the Journal.) VI. On the Cultivation of the Quiniferous Cinchona in British Sikkim. By Dr Tuomas AnprERson, Superintendent of the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, The cultivation of Cinchona at Darjeeling, has been carried on success- fully. The following is a return of the Cinchona plant in the nurseries at that place, on the 15th June 1863 :— Cinchona succirubra, . ; : i 1024 C. Calisaya, : - ; ; 53 C. oficinalis, ; ; ; : 573 C. micrantha, . : ‘ : : : 695 C. pahudiana, . : - : p 2275 Total, ‘ 4620 The cultivation of Cinchona at Darjeeling was attended with very ereat difficulties at first; but these have now been overcome, and there is every reason to believe that the plantation will be successful. In the commencement of June 1863, I supplied Dr Simpson, the Euro- pean Civil surgeon of Darjeeling, with about two lbs. of fresh leaves of each of the following species: C. succirubra, C. officinalis, and C. micrantha. Decoctions prepared with water slightly aciduiated with sulphuric acid, were very bitter, and three patients suffering from well-marked inter- mittent fever were cured by the administration of these preparations alone. Towards the end of June Dr Simpson and | endeavoured to ex- amine chemically the nature of the leaves of Cinchona succirubra, and detected quinine in them. VII. On the Cultivation of Tea in India. By Wi.iam Jameson, Esq., Surgeon-Major, Superintendent of the Botanic Garden, Saharunpore. In a former communication I estimated the quantity of waste and other lands fitted for cultivation with Tea, throughout the Kohistan of the North-Western Provinces, and Punjab, and Dhoons, and showed that by them the enormous quantity of 385,000,000 lbs. might be there raised. But in this estimate I exeluded the Kohistan of Huzarah and Rawul Pindee, of Cashmere, Jummoo, and the protected Seikh States. The fol- lowing estimate of the yield of the British territory is nearer the mark, NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. I1.—JANUARY 1864. U 154 Proceedings of Socteties. and as a general return when in full bearing, 100 lbs. per acre may be given :— Acres. 100 lbs. per Acre. Kohistan of Rawul Pindee and Fuzaraie as. 20,000 2,000,000 Kangra, Valley, ; : 35,000 3,500,000 Kazloo, . : fj ier i 35,000 3,000,000 Munndee, é&c., f ; 40,000 4,000,000 Protected Hill States. ; ; 10,000 1,000,000 Jonsar Bawer, if ; 10,000 1,000,000 Dehra Dhoon, ‘ ; é ; 100,000 10,000,000 Western Gurhwal . : 180,000 18,000,000 Kumaon,. ; ‘ i : 3,500,000 350,000,000 3,930,000 393,000,000 —a quantity nearly equal to the whole export trade of China, and with high cultivation the figures might easily be doubled, and thus not only allow an immense quantity for the consumption of the Indian community, but at the same time afford a vast supply for export to other countries. In February last, at the request of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, I proceeded to the Kohistan of the Rawul Pindee Districts and Huzarah, there to establish the Tea plant, which has been most success- fully done—the plants removed from the Kangra Plantations, and trans- planted at Seelah, now growing with vigour. It is no longer an experimental Tea cultivation in the North-Western Provinces, it having passed from experiment to fact. It has been proved by data which cannot be gainsaid, that the cultivation of the Tea can be profitably conducted ; that the Tea prepared is admirably fitted for the Home and Indian markets; and that, if properly conducted and backed by capital, the undertaking presents a safe and profitable invest- ment. VIII. On some Economic Plants of India. By Dr Hueu F.C. CLEGHORN. 1. The Box Tree (Buxus sempervirens).—This tree, grown at Koolor, has been tested by Dr Alex. Hunter, at the Madras School of Arts, and the wood is found valuable for engraving. In Mr M‘Leod’s arboretum at Dhurmsalla the tree grows well. The arboretum contains many introduced Himalayan trees of great interest, as well as many Huropean fruit trees adapted to this hill station. It is, perhaps, the only collection of indigenous alpine trees in the Punjab, the nearest to it being that of Mr Berkeley at Kotghur. I hope the day is not far distant when the Punjab Agri-Horticultural Society will have a hill garden associated with it at one of the sanitaria of the province. The Himalayan box appears to be identical with the tree common all over South Europe, from Gibraltar to Constantinople, and extending into Persia. It is found chiefly in valleys at an elevation of 3000 to 6000 feet. I have met with it from Mount Tila, near Jhelum, to Wangtu bridge on the Sutle]. It is variable in size, being generally 7 to 8 feet high, and the stem only a few inches thick, but attaining sometimes a height of 15 to 17 feet, as at Mannikarn in Kullu, and a girth of 22 inches as a maxi- mum. The wood of the smaller trees is often the best for the turner and wood-engraver. It is made into little boxes by the villagers for holding ghee, honey, snuff, and tinder. At the medical stores in Sealkote it is Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 155 turned into pill-boxes, and it appears to be adapted for plugs, trenails, and wedges. ‘The wood is very heavy, and does not float; it is liable to split_in the hot weather, and should be seasoned, and then stored under cover. 2. The Olive, Zaitoon, which has also been tested for wood-engraving at the Madras School of Arts, is another plant of the Mediterranean flora, which ranges from the coast of the Levant to the Himalaya. It varies a good deal in the shape of its leaves and in the amount of ferruginescence, hence the synonyms cuspidata and ferruginea, but it does not appear to differ specifically from the Olea europea (Mount of Olives), the emblem of peace and plenty. The finest specimens I have seen are in the Kaghan and Peshawur valleys, where the fruit resembles that of rocky sites in Palestine or Gibraltar. The wood is much used for combs and beads— and is found to answer for the teeth of wheels at the Madhopore workshops. 3. Uriica heterophylla, a kind of Indian nettle, is plentiful in Simla, having followed man to the summit of Jako, attracted by moisture to an elevation unusual for any member of the family. It is found within the stations of Dalhousie and Dharmsalla, and at many intermediate points. The quantity is surprising wherever the soil has become nitrogenous by the encamping of cattle. The growth at this season (July) also is luxuriant in shady ravines near houses, where there is abundance of black mould ; but the sting being virulent, the plants are habitually cut down as a nuisance, both by private persons and municipal committees. There are other plants of the nettle tribe, particularly the Boehmeria salicifolia, “ siharu,’ used for making ropes (to which attention has been directed by Dr Jameson); this plant does not sting, and is abundant at low elevations. The produce of this might be turned to good account, though not yet recognised as merchantable fibre. 4. Cultivation of Bamboo.—Mr M‘Leod, Financial Commissioner in the Punjab, writes thus to the Commissioners of Umballa and Jullundhur :— “As it is desired to extend the growth of the bamboo as widely as possible throughout the Punjab, and some of the districts of your division possess them in greater or less abundance, I have to request that you will ascertain whether any of the four following varieties have borne seed during the present year, and inform me of the result of your inquiries. 1. The hollow Bamboo of the plains. 2. Solid Bamboo of the lower hills, of which spear handles and clubs are usually made. 3. The Nirgali or small Bamboo of the hills, growing at elevations from 5 to 8000 feet. 4. The Garoo, or still smaller hill Bamboo, growing at higher eleva- tions, probably up to 12,000 feet. *‘ It would be interesting also to ascertain, if possible, from the people, the intervals which lapse between the seasons of flowering of the several varieties. A point on which the more observant might readily furnish information, as, after flowering and yielding seed, the entire tract of bamboo which has seeded, simultaneously dries up and perishes, fresh plantations springing up from the seeds which have been scattered by the old stock. . IX. Dr Alex. Hunter, Secretary of the Agri-Horticultural Society of Madras, transmitted reports as to the cultivation of Peruvian cotton at Chingleput by Dr Shortt, and in the Kistna District by Mr E. B. Foord. Both reports are satisfactory. ‘The following is a statement which he also transmitted :— 156 Proceedings of Societies. Statement showing the Quantity of Cotton carried on the Madras Railway in the Years 1861-62 up to June 1863. January, February, March, April, May, June, July August, . September, October, November, December, Total, Average per month in the Ist 6 months, . Average per month in the year, : 1861. Indian Maunds, or 82 2-7 lbs. 6,846 16,519 6,134 1,390 3,046 7,238 10 10 15 30 20 30 35,175 8.174 6,357 3,721 5,043 | 30 6,836 12,607 loa 20 20 5,862 6,493 35 1862. Indian Maunds, or 82 2-7 lbs. 694 3,535 3,346 5,466 21,795 17,457 0 30 10 30 10 10 52,295 29,499 20,381 24.979 14,173 16,157 17,151 20 QO: 10 0 30 20 174,637 8,715 | 35 14,355] 4 —_— | —_.. 1868. Indian Maunds, or 82 2-7 lbs. 7,836 | 10 10,305 4,471 13,597 50,500 71,193 30 30 20 18 10| 157,954 | 28 10| 175,984 | 28 26,325 | 31 26,325 | 31 Table showing the Monthly Export of Cotton from Madras, and its Oficial Value from 1860 to 1863. 1860. Quantity. Cwt. January, 4,973 February, 5,605 March, . 7,499 April, 10,591 IW 5,010 June, 1,663 July, . 5,829 August,. | 21,246 September, 4,661 October, 19,003 November, | 11,961 December, 6,992 105,033 Value. Rs. 82,154 1,02,290 1,09,380 1,66,235 78,105 25,132 1,04,696 3,22, 988 69,988 265,371 1,48,934 1,01,454 15,76,027| 140,404 1861. Quantity.| Value. Cwt. AE TGZ 26,439 6,035 6,748 11,247 20,113 15,528 21,061 5,750 6,391 7,615 2,315| 46,747 Quantity. 1862. Value. 22,05,134) 2,41,529 |82,36,498 Quantity. 1863. i Rs. 1, o12i) 3.30,000 9) |11,96.878 Dr Hunter also reports that the American Saw Gin for cleaning cotton has been introduced with great success. Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 157 X. Extract of Letter from Wii11am Jameson, Esq., Surgeon-Major, Saharunpore, to Professor Baxrour, July 9, 1863. I send two small packets of seeds. 1. Seeds of the Folel or Phulwah (Bassia lutyracea) which is now just ripening here. From the seeds of this tree a kind of butter is extracted which is valuable in rheumatism. It is used in lamps, and as it gives a fine inodorous light, it is prized for night-lights. ‘The tree grows to a height of from 30 to 40 feet, flowers in October, and ripens its seeds in July. It was supposed to be confined to Eastern Kumaon and Nepal, but this is a mistake, as it is common at Bhimtul, where I have an exten- sive tea plantation. Bhimtal is ten miles from the plains and twelve from the Sanatarium at Nynee Tal. The Folel or Phulwah is met with growing at altitudes of from 4000 to 4500 feet. It will do well therefore in your green-houses, but it is not sufficiently hardy to withstand your winters. Where it is met with snow falls annually, but only remains a short time on the ground. 2. Seeds of Bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea), which flowered this year in the garden at Saharunpore. Other plants of Bamboo also flowered last year. As the flowering of the Bamboo rarely occurs in our gardens, and as the seeds appear to be good, a small supply may be useful to you. T also enclose a few seeds of Hremostachys superba, which may be a novelty. It flowers in April, and is met with in hot, low localities, as at the Chowki, in the Mohur Pass, in the Sevalik range, and at Jewalah Moki in the Kohistan of the Punjab. The museum building in the Saharunpore garden is now progressing rapidly, and I trust to see it finished about the end of the season. When filled with specimens, it will, I trust, be one of the most interesting collec- tions in India. Iam collecting botanical specimens useful in the arts and sciences from all parts of India, and as soon as the collection is sufficiently extensive a catalogue will be printed. : Two great exhibitions of arts and manufactures are to take place in India,—one at Lahore in November and December 1863, and the other at Calcutta in January 1864. In these we have a move in the right direction, as, under one roof, all the raw products and the articles manu- factured in the respective .countries will be brought together, and the wants and requirements of each district ascertained; at the same time will be shown what each can give in return, and send respectively into the market. To open up the country, railways are rapidly extending ; but amongst the engineers the ery is—We have no sleepers. Over hundreds of miles in the Himalayas the Cheer (Pinus longifolia) is met with in millions, forming trees from 10 to 18 feet in girth four feet from the ground, and in height varying from 80 to 120 feet. These noble trees are every where, I might say, met with in the mountains at altitudes from 3000 to 6000 feet—occurring in two varieties,—one with the wood white and twisted, and easily acted on by the weather, and thus useless in architecture or for railway sleepers; the other, generally met with on the northern slopes of mountains at altitudes of from 5000 to 6000 feet, has reddish- white timber, close-grained and highly resinous. This timber, of which millions occur in the Himalayas, is admirably fitted for architectural pur- ~ poses, and if kyanised or creozotised would also make first-rate sleepers for railways. Nothing, however, has been done, and the ery of the engineers is,—We cannot get on with our work, because the trees met with in the country yielding timber, fitted for sleepers, are limited. To 158 Proceedings of Socveties. remove this impression, so far as the North-West Provinces are con- cerned, I am doing my endeavour, and ere long I trust to see the so- called difficulty to the rapid progress of railways overcome. When once the railways are finished, Government, particularly that of the Punjab, will, through time, find difficulty in feeding the engines, unless every where measures be taken to plant the finest tracts which are now being felled. In the Punjab, only two short lines are open,—one at Moultan, the other between Amritzur and Lahore,—and, with this small drain, firewood has risen 150 per cent.in value. Timber has from time immemo- rial been felled in the most reckless manner; and only now are the forests beginning to receive the attention that they deserve. Madras and Bom- bay have for a time been doing something ; but as yet no regular plan has been pursued in the North-West Provinces. Numbers of parties were allowed to fell timber, and did so recklessly ; so much so that first- class timber of Sal (Shorea robusta)—a timber admirably fitted for rail- way purposes—had, in many of the fine forests at the base of the Hima- layas, become scarce, and hence the outery of the engineers. But there are many other timber trees, admirably fitted for railway purposes,. which, through sheer ignorance, have been passed over, such as the Sar (Pentaptera tomentosa), Backha (Anogeissus latifolius), Dhowlah (Lager- stremia parviflora), Huldou (Nauclea cordifolia), &c. In the Kohistan of the North- West Provinces and Punjab there is no chance of coal being found, the formation being altogether wanting. ' I have now established the Cinchona plant in two localities in the Himalayas, in Gurhwal, and the west of Mussouree, at altitudes of from 4800 to 6000 feet. The following species have thus been introduced :-— Cinchona Condaminea, C. succirubra, C. peruviana, C. nitida, and C. micrantha. XI. Mr M‘Nap’s Report on Plants in Flower in the Botanic Garden. To give some idea of the mildness of the present season, I beg to lay before the Society dried specimens of 220 species of plants in flower, collected from the open air in the Royal Botanic Garden since the Ist day of December ; the largest proportion being the summer and autumn annual and perennial plants, the others chiefly composed of trees, shrubs, and spring flowering plants in the following proportions :— Annual plants (summer and autumn), : 34 species. Perennial plants. do. do. : a lS Trees and shrubs, ‘ ‘ s : t 38 Ferns, ; : 4 : : ; : 8 Spring flowering plants, . : . 22 220 The 220 species are spread over 50 natural orders in the following proportions :— Natural Orders. syhee Natural Orders. ie Ranunculacee, . ; ; 9 Caryophyllacee, : . ed Berberidaceze 2 Hypericaceze, . ; : 1 Fumariacez, : ‘ 1 Geraniacez, ; , 3 Crucifere, 3 : ANNU Lf Rutacez, if Resedacez, 2, Rhamnacee, ] Violacez, 4. Leguminose, ; : 7 Polygalacez, 1 Rosacee, Lenn tg AHF Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 159 Natural Orders. eu Natural Orders. ieee Myrtacee, 7, Labiate, 13 Onagracez 1 Verbenacee, 1 Portulacacee, 1 Primulacez, 4. Umbelliferee, 4 Plantaginaceee, 2 Araliacee, 1 Polygonacez, 2 Loranthacee i Thymeleacez, 1 Caprifoliacez, 2 Euphorbiaces, . 2 Valerianacee, 1 Urticacee, 2 Dipsacacez, 3 Corylacee, 2 Composite, 26 Garryacee, 1 Campanulacee, . 3 Conifere, . 4 Ericacez, 13 Iridacez, 2 Aquifoliacee, 1 Liliacee, 2 Jasminacee, i Juncaginacee, . 1 Apocynacee, 3 Cyperacee, 1 Gentianacez, i Graminee, 8 Polemoniacez, . 3 Filices, 9 Boraginacee, 4 — Scrophulariacez, 16 Total, 220 SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. BOTANY. The Progress of Tea Cultivation in Northern India.—As the Russian war gave an immense impetus to the growth of fibrous and oil-giving plants by the natives on the plains of Northern India, so the mutiny has been followed by a still more remarkable extension of the cultivation of tea, by English settlers and native landowners, along the belt of the Himalayas, between the altitudes of 2000 and 5000 feet for 1500 miles from Suddya to Peshawur. Official reports enable us to learn exactly the extent of that development up to so recent a period as May 1863. To ascertain the number of planters, extent of grants, and amount of produce at the close of the present year, we may add one-half to all the figures we are about to give. A glance at the “ Calcutta Gazette’ will show the enormous extent of tea land advertised as applied for by capitalists in Assam. Our share-list, which does not represent private owners, almost every week contains the name of a new tea company. ‘There are several young plantations, which annually double their produce; and Dr Jame- son’s reports of the Western Himalayan Gardens abound in remarks, to the effect that the out-turn of tea a short time hence will be immensely increased. To the capitalist, the recommendation of a tea plantation is the annually increasing returns it gives from the third to the seventh year, when the plant attains perfection. Nine-tenths of the gardens now in existence are not four years old. We shall begin our survey at the border line which separates China from Assam, and proceed westward. Chinese tradition points to India as the original home of the tea plant; and the connection between the two countries was so intimate, as proved by Buddhism, that we accept the fact on which the tradition is based. We had hardly obtained pos- session of Assam, when in 1825 Mr Bruce, still an uncovenanted officer at Tezpore, discovered the indigenous tea-plant. For some time Govern- 160 Scientific Intellagence. ment nursed the experiment of cultivation, till in 1839 their gardens became the property of the long mismanaged but now most prosperous Assam Tea Company. Two years after this a few plants, grown from China seed, were introduced froni Kumaon into Darjeeling, but no tea was made there till 1846, when an Assam planter visited the bright spot. No plantation was formed till 1856 at Kursiong. In 1855 a common labourer discovered the indigenous plant in the Cachar valley, and thus gradually was begun that cultivation in the three great tea districts of Bengal proper, to which Lord Canning’s land policy gave such an im- petus and stability in 1861. While in the plains, the sepoys strove to - wrest from us our empire ; on the hills white settlers were laying the foundation of a trade which will yet enrich the land ; missionaries were building new stations; engineers were surveying Central Asia; and political officers were upholding our honour in the midst of Mussulman fanatics, who clamoured to be led to victory over the infidel. In the entire province of Assam there were in May last 246 tea estates, of which 76 belonged to companies, and 170 to private owners. Of these 96 had been acquired during the year. The area of the whole was 122,770 acres, of which 20,144 were under cultivation, or an increase of 4144 during the year. These acres yielded 2,150,068 lbs., or 358,979 Ibs. more than in the previous year; taking each pound at Is. 9d., the whole produce may be estimated at L.190,000. Allowing for long indifference to the plant, this may be considered the result of ten years’ labour since the Assam Company revived. But in the six years since 1856 no less than 177 grants of land, covering 558,078 acres, had been applied for in Cachar, or almost every available foot of tea land in that rich valley. On 78 of these grants containing-146,218 acres, 17,594 acres were cultivated, and of these 9426 had been cleared during last year. The tea manufac- tured, with seed sold, is estimated at L.47,614, and in the current year the value will be double. In six years planters here drew from the treasury of a district previously uninhabited no less than L.173,058. Where there was hardly a human being before, there are now 150 English planters, employing 15,317 coolies, and the number is increasing every month, At Darjeeling there was last year 12,366 acres cleared, of which 9102 were cultivated by 7447 coolies. ‘The out-turn was 40,446 lbs. of tea and 3280 of coffee ; and the official estimate for this year is three times this amount of tea, which is likely to drive coffee out of cultivation altogether, as it has done at Hazareebaugh in South Bengal, of which we can give no statistics. Tea cultivation is said to have been successfully attempted on the Kymore hills of Shahabad. As Bhotan intervenes between the tea districts of Assam and Darjeel- ing, so Nepaul absorbs a large extent of the tea-bearing area. Starting from the Kali river on its western border, we are at once in the great tea tract of the North-Western and Punjab Provinces, which covers 35,000 square miles away to the Huzara hills, into which, near Peshawur, the plant has just been introduced. Dr Jameson estimates the produce of this tract, when in full bearing, on the moderate scale of 100 lbs. per acre, at 93 millions of lbs, or the whole quantity now exported by China. © Going still westward, in Kumaon there are 11 plantations, of which two belong to Government; in Kast Gurwhal 5, and in Dehra Doon 21, of which one belongs to Government and eight to Hindoos. Thus, in the North-Western Provinces there are 38,556 acres of tea grants, of which 4596 were under cultivation by 3080 labourers, and produced 33,960 lbs. last year. Passing on westward by the hill road from Dehra and Mus- soorie, we enter the Punjab, where there are 9518 acres of tea planta- tions held by 23 owners or companies, of whom five are Sikhs and one is Botany. 161 Government: 5 are in the Simla district, 2 in the Kooloo and 2 in the Mundee territories, and 14 in the Kangra valley. Government is intro- ducing the cultivation into the Huzara hills, and has given notice that it will sell in fee-simple its Holta plantation, as well as, probably, the four North-Western gardens, to the highest bidder. The experiment in the Punjab dates from 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition. We shall combine all these figures into one comparative table :-— 1 oo: ro , ie. aN e aa Sout 9 aes PROVINCE. Gel eo pee a On ene eS ey oA ot Si 2a (28) 82 bee 2 S22 |/8_e\eB)ee | s2-| £2 =} Sim = A eee at Wye eat ice 2, 3 BENGAL. | ASSAM. 5. 1826 | 122,770 | 20,144) 246 | [250] [20,000]/2,150,068 @achar,..:. . 1856 | 558,078 | 17,594) 177 155 | 15,3817 | 327,670 Darjeeling, . | 1856 | 12,366) 9,102) [40] | [50] | 7,447| 40,446 Hazareebagh,. | 1859] ...... ar De Seah Gyn came ane Ut eth N. W. Pro- VINCES. Komaon, .. « 1848 9,900} 1,500 11 | [20] | 11,260 30,850 Gurwhal, .. nae 9,900 544 ae loll 696 15,500 Dehra Doon, . aie 18,787) 2,572) 21 | [40] 1,254 56,540 PUNJAB. Simla, Koolo, and Mundee, 1860 2,400} [500] 9} fe) 000) [500] Kanera,. -- . | 1847 7,118 | [1500] 14 | [25] | [8,000]} [2,500] Puzama, 4”. IetOa | Bapoer si ie pe i i es | ef eeveee | ecaeece ee ee | 74,319 | 53,456) 523 | 560 | 49,974 |2,623,074 The three great tea districts vary in several particulars. Labour has to be imported into Bengal; it abounds in the North-Western and Pun- jab Provinces. On the other hand, Bengal enjoys cheap and easy transit, while in the last two this is the chief obstruction, which the railways will do much to remove. The tea of Assam and Cachar is from indigenous seed, and is stronger than, if not so fine as, that of the other provinces which use China seed. It is preferred by the home dealers to mix with inferior China tea. It will be observed, that in Bengal about two and a-half millions of lbs. were produced last year. From all these circumstances the Bengal tea is chiefly exported, while that of the Western Himalayas is consumed on the spot. The tea districts of the Eastern and Central Himalayas are long likely to be in the hands of English producers alone, while in the Punjab Himalayas, where the hill peasants are so enterpris- ing, the cultivation promises to be conducted on the China method, in small patches by every village, and sold to brokers for manufacture. The eagerness of all castes and classes of our native subjects for tea is well known, and the coarser the flavour the better they consider it. At pre- sent tea is sold ata rupee a pound. When it becomes a shilling, and even sixpence for the coarsest kinds, what a trade will arise! All India with NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. IL.—JANUARY 1864. 5 162 Scientific Intelligence. its hundred and fifty, and Central Asia with its fifty, millions, will then be the market. And if the Western Himalayas alone, from the Kali river to Peshawur, can yield 393 millions of lbs., what will not the Eastern half, with all Assam, Sylhet, Tipperah, and Munipore, produce? Nay, without extravagance, we may assert that the whole of the hills between Suddya and the Yangtse-kiang, the Chittagong and Burmese hills, and the Yoma range to the valley of the Irrawaddy on the east, and Negrais on the south-west, are tea-bearing tracts, within easy reach of the Bay of Bengal. In 1862 the import of tea into Great Britain amounted to 1142 millions of lbs., or an increase of more than 25 millions over 1860. Of the 963 millions imported in 1861, China sent 92,145,365, Japan 1,348,911, and India, Sin- gapore, and Ceylon 1,983,785. But while the average price of the China and Japan tea was Is. 5d. per lb., that of India was 1s. 83d, or the highest on the list. Since then Mr Gladstone has reduced the duty by one-third ; and who can estimate the increase of consumption this will cause? If, though new to the manufacture, Indian tea-planters can obtain nearly fourpence a pound more for their tea than China, they ought, by careful preparation, and by strict honesty on their own part and that of their London brokers, to make their tea still more eagerly sought after every year. The most cautious will admit that there is practically no limit to the future of the tea trade of Northern India.—F'riend of India, Sept. 17, 1863. Tinder used in the Punjab.—Dr Cleghorn states that the tinder of the Hill shepherds, ‘“‘ Kuphi,”’ is furnished by the woolly tomentum on the surface of a composite plant, Onosserts tomentosa, figured in Royle’s ‘‘Tilustrations” as Chaptalia gossypina. The plant is found every where at 7000 or 8000 feet, and the Kuphi taken to the plains. It is mentioned by Royle and Jameson that an inferior cloth is manufactured from the woolly down of the leaves. Other composite plants at high elevations are furnished with a somewhat similar downy substance. Stssoo Tree (Dalbergia Sissoo).—Dr Hugh Cleghorn writes from Simla, 5th August 1863, to the Agri-Horticultural Society of the Punjab as fol- lows :—‘‘ I enclose a photograph of a Sissoo avenue at Mozuffurgurh, executed by William Coldstream, Esq., C.S. The picture shows the remarkable growth which the Sissoo attains under favourable circumstances of soil and situation, and gives confidence in extending the culture of a timber tree which is so much valued in the Punjab. The measurements of three of the largest specimens are as follow :— Ft. In. 1, Girth 4 feet above ground, . : : A : LO, Girth 11 feet above ground, . 3 5 5 9 5 Height between 50 and 60 feet. Cubic contents from base to 11 feet above ground (approximate), . ; 5 : . : 91 0 2. Girth 4 feet above sround, . : ‘ : : ea Girth 11 feet above ground, . ll 4 Cubic contents from base to 11 feet above ground (approximate), ; 5 114 0 Both trees have an unbranched trunk for a feet, ‘aan then throw out two branches more than half the diameter of the trunk. On the road to Shereshah, 14 mile from Mozuffurgurh, is another Sissoo, girth four feet above ground 12 feet 3inches. ‘These trees were planted by Mozuffer Khan, who built the town and made the garden in which Nos. 1 and 2 are standing. The age is about seventy years.’’ Isend the above extract from Mr Coldstream’s letter accompanying the photograph, as the syste- Botany. 163 matic collection of observations showing the rate of growth of different kinds of trees is needed in India. Botanic Garden, Calcutta.—Dr in.; claw of do., 75 in. “the above eon are somewhat short for the , but agree with ¢ of £. tannunculus. Stomach was empty. The birds found in a mummy state were evidently sub- jected to the process by injecting the bituminous substance into the trunk by a wound inthe abdomen. In none of those examined had the brain been removed or disturbed. After freely bedaubing the outer surface, the tips of the wings and tail were more or less twisted together, and the legs either bent at the tibia-tarsal joint, and placed on the front of the breast by the sides of the wings, or stretched out at full length, as was usually the case with short-legged birds, as the Kestrel, Hagle, &¢. Long-necked birds had the head brought down and placed on the belly, whilst hawks, &c. were preserved in the natural position. There seems, however, to have been no rule as to position of the head and extremities, the object being to so form the mummy that it might be easily placed in the jar, after which the mouth was. sealed up, and the whole deposited in tombs and pits among others of the same description. It appears that the latter was the case, more especially in Lower Egypt, whereas at Thebes the Ibis and other birds have been found with merely the usual thick walls of bandage around them. I have often unrolled a large mass of bandage, and 180 Mr A. L. Adams on the Mummied Bodies of the Ibis, found only a leg or wing of an Ibis, from which I conjecture that these may have been portions of mutilated carcases, possibly half-destroyed by dogs, &c.; and as the bird was so highly venerated, every part of it, wherever found, was preserved with the greatest care. From the evidence of historians, and what can be in- ferred from a study of the mummied Ibis, I think we may fairly conclude, that the bird represented on the monu- ments, and preserved in pits, was identical with the [bis religiosa of Cuvier, Ibis cethiopica of Bonaparte, the Zan- talus cethiopicus of Latham, &c. We can also show that it was domesticated, and, in all probability, bred freely in Kgypt, roaming over the cultivated tracts in and about certain towns, villages and temples, at least as late as the first and second centuries of the Christian era. I believe it disappeared with the religion in which it figured so con- spicuously, and as the Christians increased, so the Ibis decreased. One may contemplate a few survivors among the ruins of Karnak, or on the battered walls of Thebes and Memphis for a few years after their overthrow, just as if the Hindu religion was to be overturned and a few sacred bulls were to linger on the scenes of their former majesty. The vast numbers of the mummied Ibis met with, espe- cially about ancient Memphis and Thebes, and the scarcity in other places, lead me to suppose that the bird was not universally distributed over Egypt; indeed, lke the other sacred animals, it had its patron cities, Hermopolis being the chief, as is stated by historians; the site, however, of this city has not been clearly defined, and by scme it is conjectured to have been one of the many names for Memphis ; at all events, the bird was excessively common in and about the Pyramids. With reference to other birds, it appears that many of the more common species were mummied,* the Kestrel, in particular, which, however, does not seem to have been at all so plentiful in comparison with the last. There can be no doubt, however, that hawks were often kept in cages in and about the temples. The Kestrel, the bird of Re, Horus, * See author’s ‘“‘ Notes and Observations on the Birds of Egypt and Nubia,” in the “Ibis” for 1863. and other Birds found in Egypt. 181 and a host of other deities, must have enjoyed unbounded freedom and protection ; and it is a curious circumstance now-a-days, with reference to this species, that as it is one of the most common rapacious birds of Egypt, so is it far tamer in that country than anywhere else I have noticed. Can the feeling of security which pervaded the old race be still hngering on ? It is not evident why other than sacred birds should have been preserved; but as the process of embalming was almost exclusively confined to the priest- hood, who seem to have followed out whatever practices their own fancies suggested, they most probably gave direc- tions that all dead animals should be brought to their temples, without reference to individual species, which, among the hawks especially, is not always very easily determined. The circumstance that, even on ceasing to occupy its position as a sacred bird, not one Ibis remained in the country—which ought not to have been the case had the climate, &c., been suited to its habits and constitu- tion—surely goes some length to show that the bird was a foreigner, and, when left to its own resources, soon pined away and died ; possibly the cold of winter tried it most, when it had been accustomed to withdraw more from under the ample shelter of the temples and among the dwellings of the natives. Besides, the artificial habits ac- quired by a long domestic condition had rendered the spe- cies in many respects almost akin to poultry ; although, as far as the mummied specimens go, there is every appear- ance in the development of the bones and muscles of the wings to lead to the belief that the bird could make good use of these organs. Note.—The following notes on the beetles found in the gizzards of the specimens of Ibis unrolled by Dr Adams have been supplied by the kindness of Andrew Murray, Esq., and will be read with considerable interest :— “The contents of the gizzards submitted to me consisted of small lumps of bituminous matter containing numerous fragments of insects. The numbers of individuals which these represented must have been very considerable. There were ten heads of a large species of Calosoma, besides a corresponding quantity of fragments of other parts of the body. ‘There was a tibia of Ateuchus sacer (a large insect), several legs of large Pimelias and Blaps, and a multitude of debris of smaller insects. NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. 11.—APRIL 1864. DEIN 182. Mr A. L. Adams on the Mummied Bodies of the Ibis. ‘In none have I been able to see any material difference between them and the individuals of the present day. The species which I have been able to identify are the following, and I mention the portions I have found in order to indicate the probable value of my opinion, viz. :— ‘ CALOSOMA RUGOSA, Sch., Dej. Spec. des Coleopt. i1. 202. _ “ Heads, thoraces, elytra, abdomen, legs, and tarsi—almost every part of the insect, but all separate. ‘This species is not (as far as I am aware) now to be found in Egypt. It is found in the Cape of Good Hope, and at least as far north as Natal. Dejean quotes the Cape of Good Hope as the locality of his specimens. Boheman gives Natal. But it is not quoted in any of the Mediterranean lists (which of course include the records of Egyptian species), and I am not acquainted with any instance of specimens having been found anywhere else than the Cape. It is represented on the west coast by a somewhat smaller but very similar species, C.imbricatum. Its representative in Europe is C. inquisitor. Although I do not see anything to warrant the fragments not being referred to C. rugosum, they are not absolutely the same. They are rather smoother, perhaps smaller. The thorax has the edging of its margins not so much raised, and the rugose punctuation finer. ‘' Sphodrus, sp. ‘The termination of an elytron. There is an Egyptian species named pteicornis by Klug, to which this may perhaps belong. I have not seen it. -' Hyphedrus senegalensis, Aube, Dej. Spec. des Coleopt. vi. 453. ‘The entire body, except the head and legs. “This specimen corresponds with Aube’s description of H. senegalensis, but I have not seen an authentic type of Aube’s species. As the name implies, the species comes from Senegal. There is no species recorded as being found in Egypt which at all comes near the mum- mied fragment. I have therefore the less hesitation in referring it to senegalensis. “ Ateuchus sacer, Linn. Syst. Nat., t. 1, part 2, f. 545, 18. « A single broken tibia. “ Although the fragment is small it is well marked, and shows that it belonged to the true Egyptian sacer, and not to the other Mediter- ranean variety picis, or any other of the varieties of that species. ‘“‘ Scaurus tritis, Fab., Sol. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., vii. 165. « Fragment of elytra. “ Scaurus striatus, Fab., Sol. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., vii. 165. «A head. ‘“« Adesmia (perhaps) microcephala, Sol. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., iii. ‘« Fragments of elytra. ‘« Ocnera (Fisch.), (Trachyderma) hispida, Fab. Klug Symb. Phys. ii. pl. 12, f. 8. «'l'wo fragments of the thorax and part of elytra. “ Pimelia, sp., Dej. ‘«¢ A number of legs belonging to one or other of the large Egyptian species of Pimelia, such as P. coriacea, Dej., P. barbara, Sol., P. cribripennis, Sol., &e. Vol. XIE PLL. New Serves Lidia’ New Phil: Journal 183 “ Opatrum subsulcatum, Dej. « Numerous elytra, and parts of the body and legs. “* Sclerum, sp. “Several elytra and abdomen. Query S. lucasiz near S. foveolatum, but larger and more distinctly marked. Some of the gizzards contained remains of land or fresh-water shells. The only one sufficiently perfect to ascertain was submitted to Dr Baird of the British Museum, who writes to me—‘ Your shell appears to be identical in shape and size with the Paludina bulimoides of the Nile. This species varies much in colour and markings, but not in form.’ The colours in this case were de- stroyed by the process the birds had undergone.—W. J. On the Circulation of the Atmospheres of the Harth and the Sun. By JoserH Joun Murpny, Esq. (Plate I.) Were the atmosphere not acted on by heat, it would be everywhere at rest, and every level surface, at whatever height, would be an isobarometric surface, or surface of equal barometric pressure. The earth’s rotation cannot produce currents, but it modifies them when they are produced by the action of heat. The greater heat of the equatorial regions expands the air, and thus causes the upper surface of the atmosphere to stand at a higher level there than in the polar regions. This difference of level produces an outflow in the upper strata of the air towards the poles; this outflow causes a partial vacuum in the lower strata, and an inflow of air to- wards the equator at the earth’s surface. This inflow con- stitutes the trade-winds. The east component of the motion of those winds is due to the fact that they come from a higher latitude, where the earth’s rotation is less rapid ; they carry their less velocity with them, and thus have a relative motion from the east, or against the earth’s rotation. The upper currents, on the contrary, coming from a lower latitude, where the earth’s rotatory velocity is greater, carry their greater velocity with them; they consequently move more rapidly than the earth itself in the latitudes to which they are impelled, and become south-west winds in the northern hemisphere, and north-west in the southern. 184 Mr Joseph Johu Murphy on the Circulation The upper and lower currents exercise friction on each other, and so tend to destroy each other's momentum, and the eastward momentum lost by the one must exactly equal the westward momentum lost by the other. But in addi- tion to this the lower current must lose momentum by friction against the earth’s surface. Consequently, the west component of the momentum of the upper current is much greater than the east component of the momentum of the lower one, and this preponderance of force causes the upper currents to communicate their own westerly motion to the lower ones. At the equator the easterly motion of the trade-winds must still prevail in a slight degree at all heights in the atmosphere. At a very little way towards the poles, the westerly motion begins in the upper stratum, thence the upper stratum of westerly motion deepens, and the lower one of easterly motion thins out, until about lat. 28° (taking the mean of both hemispheres) the former appears at the earth’s surface. From thence to the poles, the air, in both its upper-and its lower strata, constantly circulates round the globe from west to east, constituting what Maury calls the counter-trades. Every east wind in higher latitudes is either merely a local phenomenon, or a polar extension of the trade-winds. Professor Coffin, in one of the earlier volumes of the Smithsonian Transactions, maintains, on the authority of certain registers, that the prevalent direction of the wind in very high latitudes is from the east. I do not understand the reasoning by which he endeavours to account for this, and I suspect it is a merely local or perhaps temporary phenomenon. Sir James Ross met nothing like it in high southern latitudes, and, as we shall see further on, observa- tions bearing on the great atmospheric currents are of more importance when made in the southern than in the northern hemisphere. We have every reason to believe that in the northern hemisphere, during the summer half of the year at least, the pole of greatest cold does not coincide with that of rotation, and this would produce very complex and quite incalculable motions. The principle of reaction makes it it impossible that the winds can have any effect in either accelerating or retard- of the Atmospheres of the Earth and the Sun. 180 ing the earth’s rotation. A west wind moves round the earth’s axis more rapidly than the earth, and tends, by its friction to accelerate the earth’s rotation. An east wind, for the opposite reason, tends to retard it ; and the two sets of forces exactly neutralise each other. The friction of a wind is approximately as the square of its velocity, and the unbalanced effect of any wind on the earth’s rotation=the the east or west component of its force xX the area it covers x the radius of the parallel of latitude. The last factor gives leverage. Were the whole equatorial region occupied by the trade- winds, and the whole of both circumpolar regions by the counter-trades, and were the east and west components of the force everywhere the same, the dividing lines, in order to produce the above-mentioned compensation, would be at 20° 19’ 20" north and south nearly,* but they actually are at about 28°, showing that, in order to produce the compensa- tion, the force of the west winds must be greater than that of the east ones. The greater force of the west winds is a neces- sary consequence of the law of the conservation of areas, in virtue of which, if friction were absent, the air at any lati- tude would be moving round the earth’s axis with an absolute velocity inversely as the radius of the circle of latitude. The excess or deficiency of the absolute velocity of a mass of air, as compared with the earth’s velocity of rotation at the same latitude, is the velocity, west or east, of the wind. A mass of air in moving towards the pole will consequently gain absolute velocity, and increase in relative velocity as a west wind; in moving towards the equator, on the contrary, it will lose absolute velocity, and increase in relative velocity as an east wind. But the utmost increase towards the equator will be finite; towards the pole, on the contrary, friction apart, it would be infinite ; the velocity at the pole would be infinite, in consequence of the radius of the circle of latitude there being nothing, which is physically inter- preted by saying, that in the absence of friction no air would reach the pole—being kept away by centrifugal force. Friction prevents the centrifugal force of these aerial * My friend, Mr Harlin, Fellow of St Peter’s, Cambridge, has calculated this forme. It is identical with the parallel that bisects the solid hemisphere. 186 Mr Joseph John Murphy on the Circulation vortexes from having so great an effect as this; but their centrifugal force does produce a sensible effect in keeping the air away from their centres, and heaping it up at their margins. The barometer stands at a maximum at about lat. 28°, from which it falls towards each pole. This de- pression is much greater in the southern hemisphere than in the northern; in the highest explored latitudes of the south, the barometer stands at least an inch below its mean level elsewhere. The reason I assign for this difference is, that the vortex is much more perfectly formed in the southern hemisphere than in the northern, owing to the unequal heating of the continents and oceans in the latter, which produces cross currents. Of course, the centrifugal force is chiefly due to the velocity of the upper strata, as that of the lower is reduced by friction against the earth’s surface. The excess of barometric pressure at lat. 28° over that at the poles, and the comparative absence of centrifugal force at the earth’s surface, determine a motion of the air from lat. 30° towards each pole, and thus are produced the south- west winds of the middle latitudes of the northern hemi- sphere, and the north-west winds of the southern.* But these can occupy only a comparatively thin stratum. In the highest strata of every latitude, polar as well as equa- torial, there must be a flow of air from the hotter to the colder regions, from the equator to the poles, and a return current underneath it, in the contrary direction. In the circumpolar vortex, consequently, there is a motion from the equator above and below, and a motion from the pole * The cause of the polar depression of the barometer was first, I believe, pointed out by me in a paper read at the Belfast Natural History Society in the winter of 1855-6. The whole theory of atmospheric circulation in extra- tropical latitudes was first cleared up by Professor James Thomson, in a paper on the “Grand Currents of Atmospheric Circulation,” read at the British Association in 1857, of which an abstract is published in the Transactions for that year. His discussion of the subject is also published with some fuller particulars in the “ Proceedings of the Belfast Natural History Society’ for 6th April 1859. I never published my paper, as I afterwards became con- vinced that it contained serious errors, but Professor James Thomson, in the last-mentioned paper, has referred to me as having first explained the cause of the polar depression of the barometer. of the Atmospheres of the Earth and the Sun. 187 at ai intermediate level. ‘The motion from the poles is in the direction of the centrifugal force, that from the equator is against it. There are two regions of barometric maxima, lat. about 28° or 30°, and three of minima, at the equator and at the poles. From the maxima, air flows at the surface of the earth to the minima, appearing in the. tropical regions as the trade-winds, in the circumpolar as the counter-trades. The polar minima are produced by centrifugal force, and a barometer placed at any height above the sea-level, in the region of the polar minimum, will consequently stand below the normal level for that height; for centrifugal force acts at all depths in a vortex. But the equatorial minimum is produced in a totally different way, namely, by the ascent of rarefied air and outflow above. In that region, conse- quently, a barometer placed in the lower strata, where the currents are flowing inwards towards the barometric mini- mum, or comparative vacuum at the equator, stands below its normal level; but if placed in the upper strata, where there is an outflow of air towards the poles, it will stand above its normal level for the height. This is because an outflow can only be the effect of increased pressure and an inflow of diminished pressure. In Plate I. the inner circle represents the earth, and the circles concentric with it represent level surfaces in the atmosphere. The dotted lines represent isobarometric sur- faces. It will be seen that at all elevations they fall towards the earth’s surface in nearing the poles. At the lower heights, they fall towards the earth’s surface in nearing the equator, but at the greater heights they rise higher in nearing the equator. Within the triangular spaces enclosed by the hnes drawn from west and east to the earth’s surface, the wind is from the east; outside of these, it is from the west. The arrows marked a, indicate the trade-winds; 0, the upper return trade-winds, which extend to the poles; ¢, the winds at middle height in the higher latitudes, which blow towards the equator; d, the winds at the earth’s surface in the higher latitudes, which blow towards the poles. It is obvious that in any other planet which rotates on 188 Mr Joseph John Murphy on the Circulation its axis, and is hotter at the equator than at the poles, the system of atmospheric circulation must be essentially the same as that of the earth. The sun is sucha planet. Its rotation has long been known, and Secchi of Rome has ascertained that its equa- torial regions are sensibly hotter than the polar. No cause, [ believe, has hitherto been assigned for this difference. Mayer, Mr Waterston, and Professor William Thomson, have brought forward very strong reasons for believing that the sun is receiving a constant supply of heat by the fall of meteors from external space into his atmosphere ; and Mr Carrington and another observer have simultaneously ob- served two meteor-like bodies of intense brightness sud- denly appear on the sun’s disc, and rapidly move across it from west to east. If, as is all but certain, meteors are small planet-lhke bodies, it can scarcely be doubted that the meteors, which supply the sun with heat, move round the sun from west to east like the entire solar system, and, like it, exist in a space of the form of a very oblate spheroid, having its greatest diameter nearly in the plane of the sun’s equator. Consequently, the largest proportion of meteors must fall on the sun’s equatorial regions, making them hotter than the poles. It can scarcely be doubted that the meteors must enter the sun’s atmosphere with a tangential velocity not much short of that of a planet revolving at that distance. We know that the sun’s rotatory motion 1s incomparably less than this, and, consequently, the meteors, moving from west to east, ought to make the sun’s atmosphere move round his body in the same direction, and with greatest velocity in the equatorial regions, as most meteors will fall in there. At the same time, the difference of temperature between the sun’s equator and his poles, combined with his rotation on his axis, will tend to produce a system of cir- culation similar to that of the earth’s atmosphere, and the ~ actual circulation will be the resultant of this and of the motion from west to east, produced by the infalling meteors. Mr Carrington’s comparison of the motions of the solar spots at different latitudes,* affords proof that such a circulation * Proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Socicty, 18th April 1860. Mr of the Atmospheres of the Earth and the Sun. = 189 is what really exists. Assuming the sun’s period of rota- tion to be 25°38 days, he has computed the mean daily drift of the spots, in longitude and latitude, to be as follows, the + sign indicating pole-ward motion in latitude and east- ward in longitude. + At 50° north — 64’ in longitude + 11’ in latitude. 30 29 — 25 re) a 9) 9 18 re) —14 +) at 1 9 8 or) Ff 8 399 ae D 9 11 south + 10 “3 — 3 a 19 9 — 10 29 tt 1 99 29 ” — 21 39 + 4 ? 4B s,5... — 80 — 2 (uncertain). We thus see a regular decrease in eastward motion from the lowest to the highest latitudes in which spots are ob- served, being what I have inferred from the meteoric theory ; but the exact opposite of that which is observed in the earth’s atmosphere, and which exist in any atmosphere which is acted on, like the earth’s, only by greater heat in lower than higher latitudes, combined with the planet's rotation ; for in any such planet the motion of the whole atmosphere must be westward in the equatorial, and east- ward in the middle and higher latitudes. In order to explain the motion of the spots in latitude, it is necessary for me to assume that they are formed, and float in the lowest stratum of the sun’s atmosphere. Were the sun’s atmosphere acted on only by the mechani- cal force of the in-falling meteors, the centrifugal force would heap up the air at,the equator, and barometric pressure would be greatest there ; and this excess of pressure would produce currents from the equator to the poles at the sur- Carrington’s facts, which I quote, are most valuable; but I confess I do not understand the reasoning by which he tries to account for them. T It is true that the absolute motions in longitude assigned by Mr Car- rington are quite untrustworthy, as the true period of the sun’s rotation is not yet determined. But what we have to do with is the differences in the motions at different latitudes. Ifit is true that the sun’s atmosphere is im- pelled round his body, it follows that the rotation of his body must be slower than has been inferred from observations of the spots. Mr Carrington thinks, on the contrary, that it is more rapid than he has assumed, in order to con- . struct the table. NEW SERIES.—VOL, XIX. NO. 11.—APRIL 1864. 28 190 Mr Joseph John Murphy on the Circulation face of the sun, where the centrifugal force would be dimi- nished by friction ; just as we have seen that a similar cause produces currents in the earth’ s atmosphere from Lat. 30° to the poles. But this is not what we observe. Mr Carrington’s table shows that if lines are drawn round the sun at about Lat. 15° north and south, the currents in which the spots drift, flow on the polar side of those lines towards the poles, and on the equatorial side towards the equator. We may infer that a parallel of latitude from which currents flow on both sides must be a place of barometric maximum. In the earth’s atmosphere, as we have seen, there are two such barometric maxima, but they are at Lat. 28°, about 13° nearer the pole than those of the sun; and in the earth’s atmosphere they nearly coincide with the boundaries be- tween the westward trade-winds and the eastward counter- trades. Itis, I think, safe to assume that such coincidence must take place in the sun’s atmosphere as well as in the earth’s ; for there must be an outflow of air at the surface of the earth from both sides of a zone of barometric maxi- mum ; and the effect of the planet’s rotation on a wind flow- ing to a different latitude, will be to give an eastward direc- tion to one towards the pole, and a westward direction to- wards the equator. I have shown that were the east and west component of the velocity everywhere the same, the boundary of the east and west wind regions would be at Lat. 20° 19’ 20", in order to have no effect on the planet’s rota- tion. But I have further shown, that the force of the east- ward winds of the higher latitudes, must of necessity be greater than the force of the westward winds of the lower latitudes; so that in order to effect the above-mentioned compensation, the boundary must be on the polar side of the parallel of 20° 19’ 20", and with it, if I am right, the zone of barometric maximum.* But in the sun, as we see, that zone is on the equatorial side of 20° 19’ 28”. If my reasonings are correct, were the sun’s atmosphere acted on only by the meteors, the barometzic maximum * The frictional force of a wind is a function of its velocity and the nature of the surface it passes over; but we have reason to believe that the sun’s surface is everywhere alike, being everywhere liquid from the intense heat. of the Atmospheres of the Earth and the Sun. 191 would be at the equator; were it acted upon only by the forces that act on the earth’s atmosphere, the barometric maxima would be on the polar side of Lat, 20° 19’ 20” (in the earth’s atmosphere they are about 28°); but they are intermediate between the two, about Lat. 15°, I infer from this, in addition to other facts, that the sun’s atmosphere is acted on by both sets of forces, and that the observations tabulated by Mr Carrington show a resultant effect from the two. The solar spots are most numerous in the zones north and south of the equator, and never appear near the poles ; they are seldom seen on the equator itself. It is very probable that they are cyclones, and we know that cyclones cannot be formed on a planet’s equator, though they may drift on to it. But this will not account for their absence near the poles ; on the contrary, were all other things equal (which, however, is not the case in the earth’s atmosphere), the tendency to the formation of cyclones would be greatest at the poles ; as it is, there the rotation of any planet is most rapid in relation to an axis drawn perpendicular to its sur- face. ‘The production of spots in the lower latitudes is probably due to the greater number of meteors that fall in there, causing greater mechanical disturbance, as well as by the greater heat of those latitudes, which must give rise toa more energetic vertical circulation of the atmosphere. Such vertical circulation is certainly proved to exist by the pheno- mena of the sun’s atmosphere, especially by the “ rose- coloured protuberances” seen during solar eclipses, which are in all probability cumulus clouds. The following short reswmé of the most novel and im- portant points of this paper was read as a communication from me in Section A of the British Association at New- castle, 1863. ‘Secchi of Rome has ascertained that the sun’s equator is sensibly hotter than his poles. That this should be the case follows from the meteoric theory of solar heat. The asteroids which revolve round the sun and fall into its at- mosphere as meteors, probably occupy, lke the entire solar system, a lenticular space having its greatest diameter nearly coincident with the sun’s equator, and if so, a greater num- 192 On the Atmospheres of the Harth and the Sun. ber of meteors must fall on the equatorial than on the polar regions of the sun, making the former the hottest. The meteoric theory will also account for the currents in the sun’s atmosphere observed by Mr Carrington. He finds that the spots in the lowest latitudes drift most rapidly from W. to HE. Were the sun’s atmosphere, like the earth’s, acted on by no other motive-power than the unequal heating at different latitudes, the relative direction of the currents would be the reverse of this, in virtue of the well-known principles of the trade-winds and “‘ counter-trades,” and this would be true at all depths in the sun’s atmosphere. But if meteors are constantly falling into the sun’s atmosphere, inoving from west to east with a velocity scarcely less than that of a planet atthe sun’s surface, and in greatest number in its equatorial regions, there is a motive power which is adequate to drive its atmosphere round it from west to east, and with greatest velocity at the equator. The intensely bright meteor-like bodies, which Mr Carrington and another observer simultaneously saw traverse the sun’s disc, moved from west to east, and they were almost certainly asteroids falling into the sun.” Remarks on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams, with a Notice of a Hybrid Selaginella. By Joun Scort, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.” Modern researches, on the reproductive phenomena of Cryptogams, have induced a number of botanists to accept the doctrine of their sexuality, this function being attri- buted to the organs known as the Antheridia and Pistillidia. - Amongst those botanists who deny the sexual hypothesis, as applied to Cryptogams, a difference of opinion exists ; one class attributing a sexual function to the above organs as occurring in the genera Pilularia, Marsilea, Salvinia, and Tsoetes, but strangely arguing, that such an import cannot possibly be attributed to these organs in the other orders ; while another class,—with a more consistent scepticism,— * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 10th March 1864. Mr J. Scott on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams. 193 refuse to attribute a sexual import to these organs in any order of the class, and regard all as strictly agamic. It would be mere surplusage, on my part, to give to the Society even the briefest reswmé of the nature of the evi- dence on which the sexuality of Cryptogams is based, inas- much as the writings of Henfrey, Berkeley, Suminski, Hof- meister, &c., have rendered it sufficiently familiar to all, and must satisfy all who have accepted the doctrine that nothing short of hybrids, artificially produced between dis- tinct species of Cryptogams, will induce a universal accept- ance of the hypothesis of sexuality as applied to these plants. Several supposed instances of hybridity have been re- corded by authors, but these not being results of direct experimentation, do not by any means place the question - beyond the reach of doubt. For example, Hofmeister, in his work “ On the Higher Cryptogams,” p. 181, states that Bayrhoffer ‘‘ suggested certain mosses, found by him grow- ing wild, were hybrids between Gymnostomum pyriforme and G. fasciculare on the one side, and Lunaria hygrometrica on the other side.” Hofmeister, however, remarks that he ‘“‘ has not yet succeeded in producing such hybrids experi- mentally, although he brought together antheridial plants of Gymnostomum pyriforme and plants of Funaria hygro- metrica, with their antheridial shoots cut off. The muti- lated plants of F. hygrometrica always perished.” In the case of ferns, it has been asserted that true hybrids existin the genusGymnogramma. Braun,in his ‘“ Plantarum novarum et minus cognitarum adumbrationes,” notices seve- ral supposed hybrids belonging to the above genus which have appeared in gardens; and similar notices have from time to time appeared in the ‘“ Gardeners’ Chronicle.” That now well known segregative individualising power of the fern- spore—if I may term that subordination of the specific for- mative tendencies in that organ to those casual variations of the segments or pinne upon which it originates—ought to make us extremely cautious in ascribing a hybrid origin to any forms that may appear amongst these plants. Fur- thermore, the hermaphrodite nature of the prothalli, and the juxtaposition of the antheridial and archegonial cells, 194 Mr Jd. Scott on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams. render the occurrence of hybrids, in the trwe ferns, much less probable, I believe, than in any other order of Crypto- gams. The Botrychiums and Ophioglossums, as shown by Hofmeister and Mettenius, afford much higher facilities for successful casual hybridization than occurs in the true ferns. Inasmuch as in the former the antheridial and archegonial cells occur on opposite sides of the prothalli, so that an equal, or even higher facility, is thus afforded for the con junction of distinct individuals than the pure hermaphro- dite conjunctions. In the latter—or true ferns—on the other hand, where the antheridial and archegonial cells are produced upon the same side of the prothallus, and this being the under, an examination of the individual relations of the prothall in a single pot will, I think, suffice to show that the crossing of distinct individuals must here be a most exceptional occurrence ; unless, indeed—as so generally occurs in the higher plants—nature has provided certain external agents. In the Selaginellas, the only genus of the Lycopodiacese whose reproductive phenomena are known,* the greatest possible facilities are afforded for hybridization by the uni- sexual characteristics of their spores, and their production in distinct organs ; one kind of spore—microspore—producing spermatozoa; the other—macrospore—producing the arche- gonial cells. From these relations of the reproductive organs, it might be supposed that hybrids would be easily raised experimentally between different species. The only points to be studied being a slight regard to systematic affinities, and the relative time required for the development of the * Hofmeister has the following remarks on the above point :—“ The repro- duction of those Lycopodiacex which bear powdery spores of one kind only, is still a mystery. Repeated sowings of the spores of Lycopodium clavatum, inun- datum, and Selago, have yielded me no results ; but I have lately often observed. that in spores of Lycopodium Selago, which had been sown for from three to five months, numerous small spherical cells had been formed, similar to the mother- _ celis of the spermatozoa of Selaginella helvetica. I have not yet found sperma- tozoa inside these vesicles. De Bary has lately discovered that the spores of Lycopodium inundatum produce a body composed of a few cells, whose structure is not unlike that of the archegonium of a fern. It is probable, from these observations, that the similarly formed spores of Lycopodium, Psilotum, &c., are of different sexes, and, as in Hguisetum arvense, produce partly archegonia and partly spermatozoa.’—*‘ On the Higher Cryptogams,” p. 398. Mr J. Scott on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams. 195 spermatozoa and archegonial cells.* I have found, how- ever, that this is far from beg the case; for, after numer- ous experiments, the subject of the following remarks is the only one to which I can with certainty assign a cross origin. The history of this plant may be thus briefly told :—I placed thirty macrospores of Selaginella Daniel- siana on the surface of a pot of moist sand; over these I strewed thickly the microspores of Selaginella Martensii, and then closely covered all with a small bell-glass. In case of differences in the time required for the perfect de- velopment of the male and female organs of the respective species, for some time after the first sowing, I frequently added fresh microspores of the latter species, S. Martensvv. Ultimately one of the macrospores produced a germ-plant, all the others proving abortive. The gradual development of this germ-plant I have watched with interest, and I have now the pleasure, through the kindness of Mr M‘Nab, of placing it and its parent forms upon the table for the ex- amination of this Society. Previous to my noticing the individual and relative char- acteristics of hybrid and parents, there are one or two other points on which I beg to make a few remarks, by way of obviating certain objections which may be advanced against the hybrid nature of my seedling ; they are as follows :— A. Braun (“ Plantarum novarum et minus cognitarum adum- brationes,”’ 1857, Appendix, p. 16) considers that Selaginella Martensw and S. Danielstana are conspecific ; and taking the former for the normal or typical form of the species, calls it S. Martens normale ; the latter S. M. compacta. Three other forms, considered by some as distinct species, have also been referred by Braun to S. Martensiz under the following names :—S. MW. flaccida, divaricata, and congesta. * A single illustration will show the necessity for attending to the period required for the development of the spermatozoa and archegonia in the species tried. Thus, in the closely allied Selaginella denticulata and S. helvetica, the spermatozoa and archegonial cells are developed in the former species about six weeks after sowing; whereas, in the latter species, according to Hof- meister, the microspores lie five months, and the macrospores between six and seven months, before they produce their respective spermatozoa and archegonia. We thus see that here, as elsewhere, in the vegetable kingdom, other points than recognised systematic affinities must be attended to in hybridizing. \ 196 Mr J. Scott on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams. Mr Moore informs me by letter that he is inclined to agree with Braun in uniting under S. Martens the forms he has so placed; and furthermore, considers that the seedling form which I have raised goes to confirm this view, by showing that varying forms are capable of being produced from the spores; that, in fact, so far as he could judge from the pressed specimen (which I sent him for examina- tion), I had merely produced S. JZ. normale from the 8S. M. compacta. Mr Moore continues, however, that in plants so peculiar as these Lycopods, a good deal of their natural appearance is lost under pressure. In the present instance, the Society will observe, by a comparison of the hybrid and parent plants with the pressed specimens upon the table, the truth of Mr Moore’s remarks, as respects the affinities in judging from the dried specimens alone, and, moreover, the need for that express reservation added to the above view, inasmuch as it is at once obvious by a com- parison of the living plants, that though nearer S. Mar- tenstu in the characters of the leaves, it—the hybrid— has much more affinity with S. Danielscana in its general habit. In consequence, then, of this view of Braun and Moore, respecting the conspecificness of the parent forms, I can only give a provisional significance to the hybridity of my seedling ; satisfied, however, that even by an ultimate agreement amongst systematists as to the genetic affini- ties of the parent forms, it will simply cause a substitution of the term “ mongrel,” for that of ‘‘ hybrid,” at present given. And thus, that in either case, it will afford a stronger argument in support of the sexuality of the higher crypto- gams than any, so far as Iam aware, which has yet been recorded.* On the supposition, however, that Braun has rightly re- garded the parent forms of my seedling as conspecific, it may * Mr Moore, in answer to a query as to the occurrence of undoubted hybrids amongst the above plants, writes me as follows :—‘“‘ Iam not aware of any well authenticated instances of hybridization among Cryptogams. I have always regarded the varieties of Gymnogrammas (which do sometimes present an ap- pearance intermediate between two known sorts) as sports—chiefly, however, from the want of any direct evidence of hybridity.” Mr J. Scott on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams. 197 be argued that as the S. Danielstana—S. MW. compacta—is the more incipient form of the two experimented upon, it may yet have a tendency to produce, by a truly parthenogenetic process, a varying offspring from its spores. To this I can answer only as follows, but the answer, I think is satisfac- tory. rst, When the macrospores of the S.. Danielsiana and S. Martensi are sown alone, neither—and Ispeak from an extensive series of experiments—will produce a SINGLE plant ; clearly demonstrating, as I think, a sexual reproduc- tion dependent on the mutual action of both kinds of spores. That consequently parthenogenesis, in so tar as My experi- ence goes, does not occur in either of these forms ; nor indeed in any of the species of Selaginella which I have tried, if sufficient care be taken to exclude the microspores. Again, secondly, When the microspores and macrospores of the S. Danielsiana and Martensi are each purely commixed and re- spectively sown in distinct pots, they reproduce themselves perfectly, as I have in several instances proved by experi- ments. That the Society may be enabled to judge as to the truth of this statement, I have placed upon the table seed- ling plants of both forms, all of which betray at once their respective parents. Conjoining, then, the latter with the foregoing evidence, @.e., the non-development of the macro- spores when sown alone, and the facility with which both forms reproduce themselves when the two kinds of spores are mixed ; and comparing them with the previously given history of the presumed hybrid, we are thus, as I am inclined to think, afforded, jirstly, most conclusive evidence of the - existence of true sexual organs in these plants ; and, secondly, indubitable proofs of the mixed origin of the seedling plant. Let us now see in how far this view of the mixed origin of the seedling plant is supported by an individual and comparative examination of the morphological character- istics of the latter and its parent forms. First, for the in- dividual characteristics :— ‘1. Selaginella Martensit.—Spike sessile, linear, somewhat attenuated, from 8 to 10 millimetres long. Bracteas ovate, acuminate, denticulate. Microsporangia ovate, subtrun- cate, tumid, # of a millimetre. Mucrospores reddish-orange, 3, of a millimetre, somewhat wrinkled and granulated. NEW SFERIES.—VOL. XIX, NO. I.—APRIL 1864, 2c 198 Mr J. Scott on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams. Macrospores, greyish-white, 4 of a millimetre, reticulated. Stem ascending, flexuose at the extremity, branches spread- ing. Leaves oblong-ovate, oblique, falcate, somewhat blunt, 3 to 4 millimetres long; anterior base sub-dilated, margin ciliated, posterior base rounded, margin denticulated. St- puliform leaves oblong or oblong-ovate, acuminate, den- ticulate, carinate, recurved, 2 millimetres long; exterior base auricled, and bordered with a few long hairs; interior rounded, and nearly entire. 2. Selaginella Danielsiana.—Sprke sessile, short and thick, 6 to 7millimetres long. Bracteas ovate, acute, denticulate. Microsporangia oblong, tumid, 2 of a millimetre. Micro- spores brownish-grey, wrinkled and granulated as in S. Mar- tenstt, vg of a millimetre. MMacrospores white 2 of a milli- metre, reticulated. Stem ascending, branches short, rigid, erect, sub-fastigiate. Leaves ovately-oblong, 4 to 5 milli- metres long; anterior base dilated, and sparingly fringed with long hairs ; posterior base sub-truncate, margin entire. Stipuliform leaves ovate, acuminated, carinate, recurved, 3 millimetres long; exterior base auriculate, margin sparingly ciliated ; mterior base rounded, margin entire. 3. Selaginella Danielsiana-Martensit.—Sptke sessile, short aud thick, 3 to 4 mHllimetres long. Bracteas ovate-triangu- lar, shortly mucronate, denticulate. Microsporangia ovate- oblong, half a millimetre long, tumid. Microspores brown- ish-grey, finely granulated, size very variable, from the 38th to 30th of a millimetre ; a high percentage apparently imper- -fectly developed. Macrospores white, + of a millimetre, obscurely reticulated. Stem ascending, branches numerous, short, rigid, erect, and sub-fastigiate. Leaves oblong-ovate, bluntish, shgehtly oblique, 2 to 38 millimetres long; posterior margin denticulated; anterior margin entire. Stepuliform leaves lanceolate- ae anontly mucronate, carinate, 1 to 2 millimetres Jong. Again, Bene y, by a relative comparison of the hybrid and parent forms, we have something like the following results :—F rst, in the short, erect, rigid, and somewhat fastigiate branches (destitute of any principal or leading shoots) of the hybrid plant we have a marked characteristic of the female parent, the S. Danzelsiana. As in the latter species, the right and left forks of the terminal bud are in Mr J. Scott on the Sexuality of the Higher Cryptogams. 199 general imbued with an equal degree of the vegetative force, so that both forks being developed alike, the plants thereby assume a dwarf, compact, bushy habit. In the male parent—S. Martensii—on the other hand, the right and left forks of the terminal bud are alternately more vigorously developed, so as to give rise to an apparently principal axis, or leading shoot, with a right and left series of branches, and a lax, somewhat spreading habit to the plants. Secondly, In the form of the leaves, and their somewhat lax rachidal disposition, the hybrid exhibits more affinity with the male than the female parent, the only difference being a decreased size. In the denser cellular structure of these organs, however, and likewise in the deep lustrous green, with the brownish-tinted stems, the hybrid again approaches the female parent. In the form of the stipuliform leaves and bracteas, it differs from either parent, and here approaches another of the forms which Braun has referred to the S. Martensit, viz., S. M. congesta. Thirdly, In respect to the characteristics of the. organs of fructification, there is a great similarity in the three forms, those of the hybrid being the smallest. There is one point, however, in connection with them, worthy of a passing notice, namely, the relatively great variability in the sizes of the microspores of the hybrid—a high per- centage of which are badly developed—as compared with those of the parents ; while the macrospores, though smaller than those of the latter, present in general very trifling relative differences, and so far as I can judge, until I have time to test their germinative capabilities, perfectly de- veloped. We have here a curious and interesting—real or apparent—analogy, with that which occurs in the phenomena of sterilisation in the hybridisation of the higher plants. Uybridists have shown, that in the latter class of plants, the pollen is more susceptible to the sterilising action than the ovules, and that in general, perhaps invariably, as has been maintained, we find that if the anther-cases contain a few grains of perfectly developed pollen, the ovaries also will contain a higher percentage of ovules capable of fertilisation.* * I believe an exception, of which I will satisfy mysclf at the approaching 200 On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. By M. J. Personne. Translated by Grorce Lawson, LL.D.,* Professor of Chemistry in Dalhousie College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Plate IT.) Note by Translator.—Considering the great importance of the hop in an economical point of view, we might expect our scientific and manufacturing works to contain a some- what satisfactory statement of the chemical products of the hop, and of the nature and development of the remarkable organ by which these products are secreted. This, however, is far from being the case; and intelligent brewers in Canada, puzzled by the contradictory statements that have been put forth, have frequently applied to me for informa- tion on this as on other scientific points connected with their art. I have therefore thought that a translation of M. Personne’s Memoir, published some years ago in the ‘“‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles,” might not be without its use. In some of its bearings, the subject is of much interest in a strictly scientific point of view. It is obvious, likewise, that an acquaintance with the chemical properties of Lupuline is important, not only to the brewer, but to the hop-grower, the exporter, the manufacturer of hop-extract, and, indeed, to every one who has to handle an article so prone to change its character, and, consequently, its com- mercial value, from apparently trifling causes. The Ca- nadian brewers having a favourable grain-market, and an unlimited supply of excellent water in the great lakes, almost entirely devoid of organic matter, have the means of manufacturing excellent beer. But much of the hops used requires to be imported from England. Canadian hops are grown to some slight extent at Kingston, more abundantly about Picton, and Belleville, C. W., and espe- cially farther to the westward; but the best qualities of hops are always imported. The Canadian hop gives greater flowering period, to the above law, occurs in the bigeneric hybrid of the Rhododendron Chameecistus, and the Menziesia empetrifolia—the Bryanthus erectus (Graham), inasmuch as I have found apparently well-developed pollen grains in the anther-cases, yet I have repeatedly failed in fertilising this plant with its own pollen, or that of either parent. * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 10th March 1864, pe >) & Z | SS a S 5 | ie, eames = | 5 | = eee q SUS; = : : 5 OO 3 on ot a 0) Ls) (3) a OH : =}. = Sy 3 (a ‘s 8 : s a G | (qx) oy iS (©) os iol 4) iva) Edin” New Phil. Journal On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. 201 bitterness, but is deficient in delicacy of aroma. Were pains taken (and I have reason to believe that hitherto they _ have not been taken) to select suitable varieties from the Kentish hop-gardens, and to ascertain, more precisely than we as yet know, what are the special influences of certain soils and climates, no one can doubt but that a great im- provement would result in the character of Canadian hops. All attempts in this direction must proceed upon a correct knowledge of the nature of the substances which give the hop its economical value; and although M. Personne’s memoir is more complete and satisfactory than any other that has been published, yet it is to be hoped that by again calling attention to the subject, additional informa- tion may be obtained on points that are still imperfectly made out. : The cones of the hop (Humulus Lupulus) employed in therapeutics, and especially in the manufacture of beer, owe their properties to a multitude of yellow corpuscles, re- sinous and odorous, which are separated very freely in bruising the ripe and dry cones. These small bodies have been successively called by the names of Lupulin, Lupuline, and Lupulite. It is to these that the hop owes its bitter and aromatic flavour ; for if the scales and the fruit are de- prived of this yellow powder, the cones lose those ErOpareie on account of which they are sought after. The importance of this substance has been known for a sufficiently long time. In 1821, Dr Ives of New York attempted to determine its van al constituents, and en- deavoured to introduce it into therapeutics under the name of Lupulin. In France, almost about the same time, Planche likewise concluded that it was a proximate sub- stance, and named it Lupuline, because, said he, “ This substance is to the hop what quinine is to cinchona or strychnine to nux-vomica.” In 1822, MM. Payen and Chevallier made the most com- plete chemical analysis which we have of this substance. They thereby demonstrated the complex nature of lupuline, and, consequently, the error of Planche; but the small quantity of substance upon which these chemists worked, 202 On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. did not permit them to study sufficiently well the bodies which they had obtained from it. Lastly, in 1827, M. Raspail published, on the organisa- tion of lupuline, the unique work which exists on this sub- ject. That author sought to demonstrate the analogy of this body with the pollen, as much by the investigation of its structure as by that of the action which the various solvents and chemical reagents exercised upon it. He designated it under the name of pollen of the foliaceous organs, ‘‘ because its office,” said he, ‘is to fecundate the bud, just as that of the pollen of flowers is to fecundate the ovary. I review farther on the observations of M. Raspail. Structure and Development of Lupuline. . The lupuline obtained from cones that have arrived at maturity presents itself in the form of a yellow powder, whose tint varies according to the length of time which has elapsed since it was gathered. In the fresh state, it has a greenish-yellow colour, which afterwards passes into a golden yellow, deepening more and more the longer it is kept, especially when exposed to contact with air. The form of the lupuline, when it has arrived at its complete development, may be compared to that of an acorn with its cup. Just as some acorns are more or less lengthened at tle base, so also some of the grains of Jupuline are more or less elongated. The length of these grains varies between qooths and 7 %5ths of a millimetre, and their thickness between yo'csths and ,,sths; but in general the two parts of the lupuline, the superior and inferior, are strictly pro- portional. We shall later see the reason. In comparing the lupuline with an acorn, I do not mean to say that it is, like it, composed of two solid parts, one of which encloses the base of the other. The comparison can only be applied to the external form, for they differ in all © other respects. In fact, the surface of the two parts, su- perior and inferior, of the lupuline, is perfectly continuous, only the superior, at its point of insertion on the inferior, is bent a little inwards towards the centre, and it is the shght curve which it makes that gives it the acorn form. On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. 208 These two parts present on the exterior, even under a magnifying power of from 200 to 300 diameters, a structure apparently similar. Both appear to be composed of cel- lules more or less irregular, which, however, are frequently disposed with a certain regularity from the centre to the circumference ; they are sometimes ranged in radiating series from the summit of the superior part, and from the base of the inferior to the circumference or median line, which unites them. The cells, therefore, increase in size from the two extreme points to the (median line) point of junction. But asI said just now, this structure is only apparent in the upper half; because if we succeed in making a longitudinal section in the direction of the axis of the erain of lupuline, and adjust the same, when placed under the microscope, in such a manner that the plane parallel with its axis shall be in the focus of the instrument, it will be seen that the lower half of the grain is a sort of cupule, composed of a single layer of cells. It is by the base of this cupule that the grain is attached to the epidermis of the bracts, calycine leaves, &c. It is observed, besides, that the upper half consists only of a very thin continuous membrane, and that the cells, which are depicted upon its surface, are nothing more than the imprints of utricles, the origin of which we give further on in describing the for- mation of this organ, this singular gland. The space embraced between this membrane and the interior of the cupule is occupied by a yellow liquid, the nature of which we shall examine fully farther on. The cellules which compose the cupule are also filled ; it is these that secrete it, as we shall presently see. One sees already that this description of lupuline differs essentially from that given by M. Raspail in his ‘“* New System of Organic Chemistry,” 1833, page 175. Here, in effect, is what he says:—“‘ Examined by the micro- scope, this yellow powder (the lupuline) is seen to be com- posed of vesicular organs, rich in cellules, varying in size about the 4th of a millimetre, and of about the form of that represented in figure 6 of plate v. (of his work.) Hach of these grains, when dried, is of a beautiful golden yellow, somewhat diaphanous, flattened, presenting on some 204 On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. part of one of its two surfaces the mark of its point of attachment, by which the grain has been originally attached to the organ which produced it, which mark I usually de- signate by the name of hilum. .. . When these grains are examined, as recently obtained from the still hving female cone, they are found to be pyriform, with a peduncle terminated by a hilum,” &c. And farther on, § 387, pp. 176, 177, M. Raspail attempts to prove that the grains of lupuline emit pollen tubes, and that these are produced in contact with water. The con- clusion of this paper will show the cause of the error of this observer. Let us now study the origin of lupuline. It commences like a hair, by one cellule / (fig. 3, Plate II.), which is developed between cells of the epidermis e. This cellule, projecting to the exterior, is divided by a transverse partition at the level of the external surface of the epidermis. The utricle a, ovoid or elliptical, which results from this division, is in its turn divided transversely (fig. 4, a). The two new utricles enlarge; the superior a (fig. 5) is more dilated than the other, and is filled with somewhat granular matter; the inferior p forms a short pedicel, which unites the former to the epidermis e, by means of the primitive cell 7. Thus far the multiplica- tion goes on by transverse division ; it now proceeds verti- cally. The terminal cellule a divides longitudinally into two, as shown by figure 6 ata. Hach of the two utricles which thus originate produces in its turn, either one after the other (figs. 7 and 9), or simultaneously (figs. 8 and 10), two cellules, so that by this time the pedicel p is termi- nated by three cells (fig. 7), or by four, as in figure 8. The figures 11 and 12 show more advanced stages of this subdivision. There now appear some new utricular ele- ments in the interior of the terminal cells. Figure 13 presents a degree of multiplication still more advanced ; in it may be clearly observed, inaaaa, the four terminal cells of figure 8, and that they have divided in a radial manner and parallel to the circumference. In figure 14, which indicates a later phase, may also be observed the four original divisions; but the cells of each of these are On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. 205 still more numerous than in the preceding figure. It not unfrequently happens that the utricular multiplica- tion parallel to the rays is more marked than that which occurs in the other direction, in which case the section ap- pears as in figure 15. It is at this stage of development of the lupuline that its edges become raised; then from the discoid state it becomes cup-shaped. Figure 16 represents some of these cupules which are almost arrived at the per- fect state. They have longitudinal striz, interiorly and exteriorly ; that is to say, in the direction of the utricular multiplication parallel to the rays. These elegant cupules appear sessile in consequence of the pedicel not being elon- gated. When the enlargement of the cups has ceased, other phenomena take place in the interior of their tissues. Each cupule consists, at this time, of a layer of cells, which is covered with a cuticle on its two faces, the interior and exterior ; then commences the secretion of the yellow liquid before mentioned. It is poured out on the whole internal surface of the cupule between the secreting cells and the cuticle which covers them. The latter, detached from the cells by this flowing, is gradually raised completely from the whole extent of the internal surface (fig. 17 d), and finally pushed up like the finger of a glove ; it is now that the lupuline takes the form of an acorn (figs. 18 and 19), to which I have compared it ; itis then arrived at its most perfect stage of development. _ It is curious to observe under the microscope the rising of the cuticle. It may be caused artificially, by placing the cupules in water slightly alkalised, which penetrates their walls better than pure water. They may be seen suc- cessively passing through all the intermediate stages be- tween the form / of figure 16 and that of figure 18. If we examine the fresh but perfectly developed lupu- line in water, it is seen to swell gradually, becoming turgid by endosmose, then all the cells of the cupule appear as a perfect network, and it is then evident that the imprints marked upon the cuticle disappear almost completely. The enlargement increases to the point of bursting of the grain, and it then emits a perfect cloud, formed by a multitude of NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO, I1.——APRIL 1864, 2D 206 On the Chemical and Natural Mistory of Lupuline. small globules of essential oil; it frequently happens that these globules, by uniting, form a globule somewhat large, which is very well seen on the summit of the grain in front of the rent. This rent is generally made at the junction of the cuticle with the edge of the cupule. The cuticle is raised, as a cover, and, as the cupules open, the cuticle.is detached, and swims away in the surrounding liquid. Occasionally during this action it occurs as much in the wall of the cuticle as in that of the cupule, according to their greater or less re- sistance. | An allaline solution and alcohol act more rapidly than water, because, by dissolving more readily the resinous matter which impregnates the walls of the grains, they render the penetration more easy. It has never been possible for me to observe the pre- tended pollen tubes seen by M. Raspail, in examining the fresh lupuline. But if we examine lupuline that has been kept for some time, we observe a very few grains which are with difficulty impregnated with liquid in this or that place, and which, breaking a long time after most of the others, permit the exudation of a viscid matter. This matter, moulding itself in the aperture which gives it passage, slightly resembles, to a certain extent, a pollen tube, and it was this most probably that was seen by M. Raspail; but it requires only a shght examination to account for the appearance, which is most certainly due to the interior matter of the grains having been dried dissolving with difficulty. The lupuline is produced on the ovaries, on the inferior surface of the bracts and on that of the leaves. It is equally met with on the stem and on the stipules; but it is only on the ovary and on the scales of the cone that the lupu- line arrives at its complete development. On the leaves, on the stipules, and on the stem, it is never met with ex- cept in. the state of cupules more or less advanced, or all simply of discs, which readily wither up and are shed. The lupuline is then a gland, which contains a complex liquid, of which we now proceed to investigate the nature. On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. 207 Chemical History of Lupuline. The matter contained in the gland, which I designate by the name of Lupuline, has a very complex composition ; its constituent principles may be classed into two groups: the one embracing those that are volatile, and are obtained by distillation with water; the other those that are fixed, or at least not volatile with steam. Exanunation of the Volatile Principles. The product of distillation consisted of a solution decidedly acid, which reddened tournesol paper, and upon which floated an essential oil, coloured occasionally of a most beautiful green. The proportion between the quantity of essential oil and of acid of the liquor distilled varied according to the quality of lupuline employed in the operation. Besides, the lupu- line when as fresh as possible, furnished at once a less acid liquor and a greater quantity of essential oil than the older lupuline, which gave, on the contrary, more acid and less essential oil; the latter is likewise drier and more resinous than that obtained with the freshest lupuline. The quantities of essential oil which I obtained with the lupulines of different ages, have given me the following proportions :—With recent lupuline I obtained as much as 1 from 100 of the essence, while with older lupuline I have had not more than 0°61 from 100, that is near my propor- tion. Volatile Acid of Lupuline. If we next separate the essential oil from the acid liquid obtained, as I have described, by distillation of lupuline with water, and saturate the liquid with some carbonate of soda, and then evaporate to dryness, it yields as residue a mass of a soapy nature, which liquefies by heat and becomes very solid on cooling, it is with difficulty permeable by water, which, however, ultimately dissolves it completely ; it, in short, comports itself like the compounds of fatty acids with alkahes. This mass, dissolved in a small quantity of water and 208 On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. then treated with sulphuric acid diluted with its weight of water or with gelatinous phosphoric acid, yields some sul- phate or phosphate of soda which remains in solution in the aqueous liquid, to the surface of which is seen to float a brown oily liquid, diffusing a strong and disagreeable odour of butyric and valerianic acids. Subjected to distillation this liquid furnished, by many successive rectifications, a product which boiled at + 175 degrees (= 347° Fahr.), and distilled without alteration at this temperature ; the first portions carried over water in excess, which was thus separated with sufficient ease. This acid, obtained in a state of purity, is a liquid, slightly oleaginous, very fluid, colourless, with a strong and persistent odour of valerianic acid; its flavour. is acid and piquant ; it produces a white stain on the tongue in the manner of energetic fatty acids; it is not solidified by a cold of —16 degrees (=+3°: 2 Fahr.), and remains per- fectly limpid ; 1t burns readily with a smoky flame. The specific gravity of this acid is found to be 0°9403 at+15 degrees (=59° Fahr.). It corresponds to that of valerianic acid, which has been found to be 0:937 at +165 (=61°°7 Fahr.) I omit here the description of all the analyses which I have made for ascertaining the composition of this acid. All lead to the formula of valerianic acid. I have pur- posely multiplied its combinations with oxide of copper, oxide of silver and baryta, in order to be well satisfied of its true constitution. But the odour alone of lupuline, especially of that which has been kept for some time, does not admit of doubt of the existence of this acid among the bodies which this substance contains. olatile Oul of Lupuline. This crude essential oil—that is to say, such as has been given by distillation of lupuline with water—is an oleagin- ous liquid, more or less fluid according to the state of the lupuline which furnished it, and of a specific gravity less than that of water. It has at the same time a somewhat intense colour of yellowish green, more frequently of a beautiful green ; its odour recalls slightly that of the hop; On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. 209 but this odour does not resemble that of valerianic acid when the oil has not undergone oxidation or contact with air. Subjected to distillation, it enters into ebullition at + 140 degrees (=284° Fahr.), and distils for some time at+150° (= 302° Fahr.) to 160 degrees (= 320° Fahr.), but the tem- perature rises gradually, and when the process is finished, is +300 degrees (=572° Fahr.) The portion of this essence obtained between 150° (=302° Fahr.) and 160° (=820° Fahr.) is a sufficiently thin liquid, slightly amber-coloured, of an odour which does not resemble that of the hop, and of a specific gravity of 0°8887. It has not an acid reaction, but, on exposure to air, it acidifies and becomes resinous; it is slightly soluble in water, to which it communicates its odour, and the solution exposed to the air acidifies rather readily ; it is soluble in alcohol and in ether. With a cold of —17 degrees (+1°'4 Fahr.) it lost a little of its fluidity, but its transparency was not altered, even after four or five hours’ exposure to that temperature. It deviates to the right the rays of polarized light. Its ro- tatory power (Dextrogyrate) has been found by the red glass to be + 2°7=> for the length of 0™:080 ; it is then of + 62-7 80 x D Nitric acid gives at first a beautiful purple colour; after- wards, if heated a little, the reaction becomes more lively, and the products furnished are a resinous matter and vale- rianic acid. Potash in solution fails to attack it at a boiling tempera- ture; but if we form an emulsion with a concentrated solution of potash, and expose the mixture for some time to contact with air, we find that there are produced valerianate of potash and a resinous matter. Fused potassa transforms it into carbonate and valerianate of potassa, with disengagement of hydrogen and of a hydro- carbon liquid. This reaction of potassa is very imporiant, because, after some useless trials, and a great number of analyses, it ren- dered clear the true nature of this essence, placing it by the side of the essential oil of valerian. 210 On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. In fact, the composition obtained by analysis of the crude essence, may be represented by the formula C,,H,,0, ; that of the essence distilled between +150 and 160 degrees (802° and 320° Fahr.) by the formula C,.H,,0,. In submitting these essences to the action of fused po- tassa, there were obtained products in which the quantity of carbon and of hydrogen increased each time that they were submitted to a renewed action of potassa, while the proportion of oxygen decreased. Finally, after many suc- cessive treatments, we finished by having a perfectly pure hydro-carbon. This hydro-carbon is a colourless liquid, which boils at +160 degrees (320° Fahr.) It does not acidify by contact with air; it is as difficult to be altered by contact, for a score of days, with pure oxygen. Its composition, deduced from analysis, is represented by the formula C,,H,; it is consequently the same as that of the oil of turpentine and of bornééne, which M. Gerhardt has found in the essential oil of Valerian. But this body, although possessing the composition of oil of turpentine and of bornééne, is not the same, but isomerous with these last; for I have not trans- formed them into solid camphor of Borneo, neither by the action of nitric acid nor by that of potassa. Kept for some time on a solution of potassa, 1t acquired the odour of thyme, sufficiently to show an approach to thymol. We see that the action of fused potassa upon the essential oil of hop, consists in setting free a hydro-carbon liquid C, H,, and in retaining an oxygenated body, which it trans- forms into valerianic acid and carbonic acid; results abso- lutely similar to what M. Gerhardt has obtained with the essence of valerian. It is not easy to separate the oxygenised principle of this essential oil, because it is found to be retained in the thickish resinous matter, which does not permit the separation with- out great difficulty. The essential oil of lupuline is clearly, then, to be consi- dered as a complex oil, constituted by a hydro-carbon C,)Hg, and a body containing oxygen of the formula C,,H,,0, analogous to valerol of the essential oil of valerian. The formula of the crude oil C,;,H,,0,, may be represented by On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. 211 3 (O,.H,,0,) +2 (Cys); that of the oil rectified between +150 and 160 degrees (802° and 320° Fahr.) by ©,.H,.0, + C,H, == CooH,0>. The process by which it may be obtained as free as _pos- sible from extraneous matter, consists in preparing a tinc- ture of lupuline with alcohol, of 36 degrees; to treat this liquid with an alcoholic solution of tartaric acid, which forms a precipitate somewhat abundant, of bitartrate of ammonia. The liquid separated from the precipitate, is added to a little water, and submitted to gentle heat in a capsule exposed to the air; the alcohol, in evaporating, leaves separate, at the end of two or three days, the resinous matter of the solution, acid and bitter. This bitter liquid is then deprived of the excess of tartaric acid which it con- tains, and then made to digest with some carbonate of lead recently precipitated ; the mass, evaporated at the lowest possible temperature, is treated by boiling alcohol, which dissolves only the bitter matter. Resinous Matter. The resinous matter is very abundant in lupuline ; it forms itself alone nearly two-thirds of its weight ; it retains always a certain quantity of the volatile oily products, which gives to it a variable consistence, and preserves at the same time the peculiar odour of lupuline. It is oxidized by contact with air, especially in presence of water, and its colour then passes from a golden yellow to a deep brown tint, at the same time that it hardens. It is largely soluble in water, to which it communicates the property of lather by agita- tion. This solution presents an acid reaction, and is com- pletely altered by evaporation in contact with air. The alkalies dissolve it in the cold, and separate an in- soluble part. This resin, insoluble in the alkalies and in water, is soluble in alcohol; it is dry, friable and inodorous. The alkaline solution, saturated by an acid, sets free the resinous matter with its original properties, and retaining some valerianic acid which is got by distillation. Lastly, nitric acid with heat attacks this resin with energy, but without producing special reaction which would serve to characterise it, 212 On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. To obtain this resin as pure as possible, the lupuline must be exhausted by long boiling in water, which drives off the volatile products, and dissolves the bitter matter. The in- soluble residue, composed of resin and of disintegrated tissue of the lupuline grains, well washed and dried, is then treated by boiling alcohol, which sets free, when cooled, a certain quantity of waxy maiter ; the alcoholic liquor, filtered after cooling, furnishes the resin by evaporation of the alcohol. The wax is contained in the cells which compose the cupule of the lupuline grain; it exists also in the scales which constitute the cone of the hop, and by treating these scales with boiling alcohol, it is procured in sufficient quan- tity. Itis dry and pulverulent, inodorous and tasteless ; it begins to soften at +80 degrees (176° Fahr.), and is fully melted at +100 degrees (212° Fahr.) Strongly heated, it gives two volatile products, which diffuse an odour of wax ; it burns without residue, producing a white shining flame ; this matter resembles, as we see by its properties, the wax of the sugar cane. Explanation of Plate LT. Fig. 1. Cone of Hop. Fig. 2. Terminal bud enveloped by the stipules, s s, on which are marked the granulations, which represent the cupules and the discs indi- cated by the figures 14, 15, 16, &c. Fig. 3. Lupuline originating ; ee, epidermis; 7, primordial cellule of lupu- line, by which it is attached to the epidermis; a, cellule produced by the preceding, and which gives rise to the following modifica- tions :— Fig. 4. e, epidermis; 7, primordial cellule; a, cellule divided transversely into two; the inferior division constitutes the pedicel of the lupu- line, the superior forms the gland of the same. Fig. 5. ee, epidermis; J, primordial cellule; p, pedicel; a, cellule contain- ing grey matter with granules. Fig. 6. p, pedicel: a, cellule divided into two longitudinally. Fig. 7. p, pedicel ; a, represents one of the two cells of the preceding figure, subdivided longitudinally into two; a@’,is another cellule, not so parted. Fig. 8. ¢, epidermis ; p, pedicel ; a, gland formed of four cellules. Fig. 9. Gland, represented in figure 7, front view; a, is the cell not divided ; a’, the cell which is parted into two longitudinally. Fig. 10. Gland a of the figure 8, front view. Fig. 11. The same gland more advanced, in which are seen many cells origi- nating by the intra-utricular mode of multiplication. On the Chemical and Natural History of Lupuline. 213 Vig. 12. The same gland, seen on the face, and a little farther advanced. Fig. 13. Gland more advanced, in which the four cellules of figures 10, 11, and 12, are subdivided parallelly to the ray, and parallelly to the circumference; each of the cells is indicated by aa aa. Wig. 14. Gland in which the utricular multiplication is still more advanced. The four mother cells of fig. 10 are still visible, and indicated by aaaa. Fig. 15, Shows the aspect which the glands present when they have acquired a somewhat considerable size; e, epidermis ; 7, the gland. . 16. Glands more advanced. ‘The edges of the discoid glands, as seen in preceding figures, are here raised, forming cupules, J, 1; e, epi- dermis. Fig. 17. Cupule from the internal (or upper) surface of which the cuticle d is detached, and elevated by the secretory products. Fig. 18. Lupuline, which has acquired its complete development; c¢ 7, secret- ing cupule or proper gland, surmounted by the cuticle ¢ s, raised up by the products of secretion. Fig. 19. Grain of lupuline enlarged; ¢ z, cupule or gland proper; ¢, point of attachment; ¢ s, elevated cuticle. There is seen on this last the impression or trace of the cellules of the cupule, on the cavity of which this cuticle was applied. Fig. 20. Longitudinal section of a grain of lupuline ; ¢ z, cupule composed of a single layer, which secretes the contained liquid; cs, cuticle de- tached from the internal surface of the cupule by the secreted liquid. The figures are from the pencil of M. Trecul. Lemarks on the Sexual Changes in the Infloresence of Zea Mays. By Mr Joun Scort.* The florets of the Indian corn, Zea Mays, as is well known, are unisexual, and so placed that the male florets form a terminal panicle, or raceme, and the females in- ferior lateral spikes. In the male panicle the spikelets are two-flowered ; both florets perfect and characterised by two glumes, two squamule, and three stamens. In the female spike, the spikelets are also two-flowered, but in this case the inferior floret is neuter; two palez alone being developed, the superior fertile, and possessing two or three paleze, an oblique, sessile ovary, and a long compressed style, bifid, and pubescent at the apex. In the abnormal specimens which I now submit to the Society, the male and female florets, in place of being * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 10th December 1863, NEW SERIES.—VOL, XIX. NO. I1,—ApPRIL 1864, 24 214 Mr John Scott on the Sexual Changes arranged as above, on distinct axes of the plant, occur more or less irregularly on a single axis. Thus, in specimen No. 1, we have a female monoicous spike; 7. e. a female spike, producing both male and female florets. In this case the basal portion of the spike is normal, presenting several circles of the perfect grain; the upper and major portion of the spike, on the other hand, has every floret converted into the male form ; each spikelet, be it observed, producing two perfect male florets. In other cases, how- ever, the upper portion of the spike retains its feminine character, while the basal portion assumes the male; or again, we may have an irregular intermixture of male and female florets over the whole spike. The metamorphosis of the female into the male floret is not, however, always complete, and this is more especially so In such cases as the latter, where there is no definite arrangement of the male and female floret. From the special theoretical interest now attached to these imperfectly metamorphosed florets, in their association with others perfectly metamorphosed, I will here describe one or two of the most instructive which have come under my observa- tion. rst, In the superior floret of a female spikelet, the style was abortive, ovary rudimentary, squamule developed (though smaller than those of a normal male floret), glumes lanceolate-acuminate ; in the inferior floret the stamens, squamule, and glumes were perfectly developed; so that the normally neuter floret of the female spikelet was in this case converted into a perfect male; whereas a very imper- fect metamorphosis has been effected in the case of the fertile female floret. Again, second, in another spikelet, from a female spike, I found the superior floret presenting all the characteristics of the normal male floret ; while the inferior (though still retaining its neutrality of function) —stamens and pistils being alike abortive—presented by a pair of lanceolate acuminate glumes, and two minute cuneate squamule, an evident tendency to assume the male form also. If we now turn to an examination of the male panicles, we are at once struck with the rare occurrence of the mo- noicous structure in them, as compared with the occurrence of such a structure in the female spikes. Somehow—and in the Inflorescence of Zea Mays. 215 it is difficult to understand why it should be so—the female organs in this instance, as indeed in most other unisexual plants, are much less prone to become developed in the male flowers than are the male organs in the female flowers.* On this account, then, I trust the Society will bear with me while I briefly attempt to describe the few male monoi- cous panicles, which I have been fortunate enough to ob- tain ; they are as follows :— First, In specimen No. 2,—a terminal panicle,—the pri- mary axis bears male and female florets; the florets of the former are perfect in the upper portion of the axis, which they exclusively cover, but in the lower portion, where they approach the female florets, the superior floret in the majority of the spikelets is alone perfect; while in the inferior floret the stamens occur in a more or less rudimentary condition. The female florets of the primary axis are all imperfect, the ovary existing in a rudimentary form, and the stamens utterly aborted in the superior florets; whereas, in the inferior florets of the spike- * May we not regard this as probably indicative of those homological dis- tinctions between the male and female organs of plants, insisted upon by Schleiden and Endlicher, at least as modified by Dr Dickson, in his interesting paper “On the Nature of the Cormophyte.” (Vide Society’s Transactions, vol. vi. p. 95.) Dr Dickson there states, that he is “inclined to believe that there exist in reality two modes of placentation, the one where the ovules are produced by a process of gemmation from the carpellary leaves (parietal) ; the other, where the ovules spring from the prolonged floral axis (central). In this modified sense, then, a strong argument against the Schleidonian theory of placentation is completely neutralised. I refer to the inverse con- vertibility of male and female organs in certain plants. For example, in the willows, we have some excellent illustrations in the Society’s Transactions, Thus, in vol. i. page 118, the Rev. J. E. Leefe has illustrated the gradual modifications of the pistillary into staminal organs in the Salix Caprea ; while Mr Lowe, vol. v. p. 118, has given us, vice versa, all the conceivable interme- diate stages in the transformations of the staminal into the pistillary organs in Salix Andersoniana. Now, as these cases of the willows naturally come under the division assumed to possess a parietal placentation, their evidently disproving tendencies are utterly invalidated. And thus, even in view of such anomalous occurrences, we may justifiably reiterate the above sugges- tion, as to the difference in the inverse convertibility of the male and female organs, in at least the case of the maize, where the floral axis, as terminal shoot, undistinguishable in the cavity of the germen as a special organ, bears a single seed-bud (Schleiden’s ‘ Principles of Botany,” p. 386), and is thus referrible to the division characterised by a central placentation. 216 Mr John Scott on the Sexual Changes lets, staminal and pistillary organs are similarly aborted. Again, in the arrangement of the male and female florets in the secondary axes, a similar plan is observed to that of the primary axis; the female florets occupying their basal portions, but in several instances perfectly developed, the upper portions being covered with perfect male spikelets. Secondly, In specimen No. 3,—a terminal panicle,—we have a very irregular intermixture of perfect and imperfect male and female florets, along with several structurally her- maphrodite florets. Generally speaking, however, in this specimen, as in No. 2, the upper portions of both primary and secondary axes still retain their normal-male-sexual charac- teristics, and the basal portions assuming the female charac- ters. By a careful examination, however, I have detected several structural peculiarities in certain florets of the latter part, to which I am inclined to attribute a highly important theoretical signification, as will be seen subsequently. The following are the most instructive :—Frst, In the superzor jloret of a spikelet, presenting the broad glumes and palez of the female florets, I found a rudimentary hypogynous stamen ; while in the inferior floret the glumes were ovately-lanceo- late, squamulze as usual in normal male florets, stamens developed, but destitute of pollen. Second spikelet ; glumes of supertor floret broadly-lanceolate, squamule cuneate, ob- liquely truncate, larger than those characteristic of the male florets, ovary and style incipient, as in the above; but in this case I found two rudimentary stamens, one consisting of the filament alone, the other of the filament and a pel- lucid rudimentary anther, presenting the appearance of a elandular hair; the only modification the ¢nferior floret of this spikelet had undergone from its normal male condition, was the non-development of the pollen, the anther-cases being quite empty. Zhird spikelet; glumes of superior floret ovately-lanceolate, squamule cuneate, minute, anthers des- titute of pollen ; inferior floret functionally a perfect male, glumes broadly-lanceolate, squamule as usual in male florets, anthers containing pollen. These, then, are the more interesting peculiarities which I have observed in the structure of the florets in the above panicle; and there is just one other point in connection in the Inflorescence of Zea Mays. aT with it to which I will here specially direct attention,— namely, the remarkable irregularity observed in the relative arrangement of the male and female florets. The most striking case is presented by one of the secondary axes; the florets in its basal portion are nearly all converted into more or less perfect females, whilst those above retain in like manner the male characteristics. Associated with the latter, however, and near the upper extremity of the axis, two solitary female florets are at once observable by their prominently developed grains. On examination of the spikelets bearing these, I find that the female morpho- genesis is complete, the superior floret alone fertile, the inferior neuter. This individual isolation of the florets, occurring as they do in distinct parts of the axis, and sur- rounded by normal male florets, and perfect metamorphosis, excellently illustrates the occasional independence of such phenomena on mere physical conditions.* Thirdly, In specimen No, 4—a terminal panicle—a some- what different arrangement is observed to that which we have seen followed in specimens Nos. 2 and 3. In the latter two, the basal portions of the axes produce female florets, and the upper male; whereas in the former, No. 4 specimen, the opposite of this occurs, namely, the upper portions of primary and secondary axes converted into com- pact spikes of female florets, while the lower portions, * Dr Lindley in treating on the changes of sex under the influence of ex- ternal causes (Introduction to Botany, vol. ii. 4th ed. p. 80), states “that Mr Knight long ago showed that a high temperature favoured the develop- ment of male flowers, and a low one that of female;’’ furthermore, that this eminent horticulturist “entertained little doubt that the same fruit-stalks might be made to support either male or female flowers in obedience to ex- ternal causes.” Dr Lindley illustrates these conclusions by experiments on water-melons and cucumbers. From personal observaticns, however, on several monoicous plants, I cannot think that these influences are at all definite as to their influence on sex produced. The above laws are still less applicable to dioicous plants; and certainly, upon any theory of special creation ; on 2 subjective consideration of the vegetable individual, I fail to see why they should not be equally potent in the one case as in the other. Such cases as those above noticed in the maize, in which collateral florets assume distinct sexual characteristics, induce me to believe that in general the in- fluence of physical condition on the change of sex is subordinate to certain innate, specific, formative qualities; in short, an inherited tendency to pro- duce the characters in question. _ 218 Mr John Scott on the Sexual Changes retaining their normal characters, continue to produce the racemose male spikelets. In the majority of the secondary axes, however, the basal spikelets are nearly all aborted ; whereas this portion of the primary axis is covered with perfect male spikelets, which, as they extend upwards, are abruptly metamorphosed into a short terminal spike of female florets. These, like those on the secondary axes, are all very imperfect, the ovary and style existing in a more or less rudimentary condition, and occasionally pre- senting the rudiments of one or two hypogynous stamens. _ Hitherto our remarks have been chiefly confined to a mere description of the sexual metamorphoses in the florets of maize, though I have more than once alluded to their possible connection with, and elucidation of, certain highly important points in theoretical natural science. For the sake of clearness in the exposition of the theoretical bear- ings of these metamorphoses, I will now give a brief resumé of the foregoing illustrations. First, then, we have stated that the inflorescence is normally unisexual—the female florets borne on inferior lateral spikes, the male on terminal racemes or panicles. Our illustrations, however, show that these structural arrangements undergo important modifica- tions. Thus, we have first the female spikes assuming a monoicous structure, and this without any regard what- ever to the relative axial arrangement of the male and female florets; the same part on distinct axes indifferently producing perfect and imperfect male or female florets, as well as collateral mixtures of both; showing us most con- clusively, their morphogenetic independence of the mere external conditions of life. Again, individual florets of these female spikes present themselves with a structure intermediate between that of the perfect male and female ; and then manifest a most interesting and instructive co- related order in the development of their organs. Thus the supertor and normally fertile floret of a spikelet with abortive style and rudimentary ovary, had assumed the characteristic squamule and glumes of the male floret; while the normally neuter floret had assumed zn toto the male characteristic. In the terminal male panicles, with a similar series of in the Inflorescence of Zea Mays. 219 changes to those which we have noticed in the female spikes, there are also the important additional illustrations of structurally hermaphrodite florets.* Thus, in one of the spikelets we had a superior floret with incipient ovary and style, a rudimentary stamen, and the characteristic pales and glumes of a normal female floret; while the inferior floret differed from a normal male only in its broader and shorter glumes, and barren stamens. . Again, in the superior floret of another male spikelet, with glumes somewhat inter- mediate between those of the normal male and female florets, we noticed an incipient ovary and style, and éwo rudimentary stamens; while the inferior floret of the same spikelet retained its male characteristics. What now are we to say as to the cause of these changes ? We see the unisexual florets of the maize not only under- going inverse metamorphoses, z.e., the male converted into female florets, and the female into male florets, but also assuming every conceivable intermediate stage between these and a structural hermaphroditism. Now, it is well known that similar sexual changes occur in—at least the female florets—many other monoicous and dioicous plants ; e.g., in the Melandryum preetense, and the Lychnis dioica, the female flowers occasionally become bisexual by the development of the stamens. I may also state that I have observed bisexual (female) flowers on the Littorella lacustris, Bryonia dioica, and Ricinus communis.t Seeing, then, that unisexual flowers undergo such serial transformations in their sexual characteristics, we, on the ordinary theory of creation—~. e., assuming species as the original units—might justly expect a similar series of changes in the characteristics of bisexual flowers. This, however, as is well known, is not the case; no instance can be * I may state, that although I have failed in illustrating structural herma- phroditism in the female spikes, cases are already recorded. C.F. Gartner, in his “ Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Befruchtung,” notices the occurrence of solitary stamens in the female florets of Zea Mays; he also states that he has observed in the conversions of male into female florets, a solitary stamen associated with the pistillary organ of the latter. t+ I will not here enter on details as to the occurrence of the above, as I hope at some future time to lay them before the Society in a notice of my observations and experiments on the subject of Vegetable Parthenogenesis. 220 On Sexual Changes in tie Inflorescence of Zea Mays. adduced of a bisexual species undergoing sexual metamor- phoses similar to those above described in the unisexual maize. Moreover, supposing that the sexual characters of hermaphrodite plants had exhibited masquerading ten- dencies similar to those of unisexual plants, it is at once evident, that, upon any theory of special creation, the cause of such changes in either case is equally unintelligible. On the other hand, if, with Mr Darwin, we believe that species are the modified descendants of previously existing species, these phenomena are no longer enigmatical, but clearly the results of definite and well-known laws. I need only refer to Mr Darwin’s interesting papers on the distinct sexual forms of the dimorphic species of Primulas and Linums, “ Jour Linn. Soc.’ vol.vi. pe 771,-and: vole wviteps 9) iby way of illustrating, as has been remarked, ‘ the possibility of a plant becoming dioicous by slow degrees.” Now, if we reflect on this dimorphism of the Primulas and Linums,. those differences in the variability of the unisexual, re- latively to the bisexual flowers, are, I believe, readily expli- cable on the supposition that the latter—z.e., the herma- phrodite structure, as Professor A. Gray has maintamed— vide ‘Sill. Amer. Jour.,” vol. xxxiv.—‘‘is the normal or primary condition of flowers.” In fine, then, in accordance with the theory of modification with descent, I, inferentially guided by that principle of reversion to type so much insisted upon by those opposed to derivative hypotheses, look confidently at such sexual changes as those above described, as retrogressive tracings of the graduated modi- fications by which an original hermaphrodite progenitor gave rise to a monoicous offspring. New Researches on Hybridity in Plants. By M. Cu. Naupin. Translated from the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, by Gzorce May Lowe, Hsq.* (1.) On the Sterility and Fecundity of Hybrids. A century ago, Koelreuter demonstrated by proofs which no other observer has ever surpassed in exactitude, and which * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh January 14, and March 10, 1864. : ’ ‘ M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity m Plants. 221 still retain all their value, the fact of the sterility of hybrids being absolute in some cases, but only partial in others. These two facts, since so frequently confirmed, cannot now be disputed. In a former paper I gave some examples which serve to illustrate them. We have seen Nicotiana-californico-rustica, N. glu- tinoso-macrophylla, N. glutinoso-angustzfolio - macrophylla, Digitalis luteo-purpurea and ibes Gordonianum, sterile both by the stamens and ovary—the former being totally destitute of pollen well formed, and the latter incapable of impregnation by the pollen of the parent plants. But as the pistil does not in every case present any appreciable de- formity, it is natural to seek in the ovule itself the true cause of this inaptitude to receive impregnation. Tt has been fully proved by many cases of hybridity, in which, in the same ovary one portion of the ovules resists im- pregnation, whilst the other becomes converted into embry- onic seeds capable of germinating—that this defectiveness exists in the ovule, and not in the more exterior parts of the pistil. We have seen this in the three hybrid generations of Luffa acutangulo-cylindrica, also in Luffa amaro-cylindrica, Cucumis Meloni-trigonus, Nicotiana rustico-paniculata, and paniculato-rustica, &¢. Cucumis myriocarpo-figaret is a not less convincing proof, since among 100 fruits which were developed and ripened under the influence of pollen derived from the maternal species, 19 at least were destitute of seeds, and each fruit, among the small number which con- tained any, only yielded one seed. JI might mention, in support of this fact, the example of Mirabilis longifloro- Jalapa, though in this case the ovary is uniovular. The stigmas of this hybrid were all equally developed, and in this respect not inferior to those of the parent species ; yet eleven attempts to impregnate it with the pollen of Mira- bilis longiflora were made without effect, and even ten were necessary with that of IZ. Jalapa to determine the increase of a single ovule. Inthe ZLuffa hybrids just mentioned, and also in the case of Cucumis Meloni-trigonus, however poor the pollen might have been which was employed to fertilise their ovaries, it is beyond doubt that the number of | NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. I11,— APRIL 1864. 2F 222 M. Ch: Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. good grains deposited on their stigmas far exceeded that of the ovules which were developed into seeds. This, it is true, is only hypothetical, but it is extremely probable. It remains to be confirmed by the anatomical examination of the ovule, and it would be very interesting to discover in what part the defectiveness exists; but this is a peculiar kind of research, very difficult, very minute, often uncertain in its results, and which one cannot enter upon without being well accustomed to it, and provided with excellent instruments, two things in which I am deficient. I therefore contented myself with verifying experimen- tally the fecundity or the sterility of the ovaries, which was more expeditious, and probably more conclusive ; but it is not less a subject to be recommended to professed micro- eraphers. - That the sterilising action of hybridisation exerts much more force on the pollen than on the ovules is a most indu- bitable fact, and one well known to all hybridologists. This need not surprise us, since the pollen is, of all parts of the plant, the most elaborated, the most animalised, if such an expression can be used. Frequent chemical analyses prove that itis in these granules that the phosphorised and azotised materials are more accumulated than else- where, and thus it may be conjectured that it is this high organisation which is injured in hybrids, where the whole vegetation suffers from the disturbance which re- sults from the intermixture of two specific essences created to live separately. The hybrids of which I have given an account present several examples. We have seen that Mirabilis longifloro-Jalapa yields pollen unfit for fertilisa- tion, whether it be applied upon the stigmas of the hybrid, or upon those of its two parents, whilst in twenty-one attempts to impregnate it with the pollen of these last (Jf. longiflora and M. Jalapa), there was only one which took effect, and enlarged the ovary. This result is quite in accordance with those which M. Lecoq (‘‘ Revue Horticole,” 1853, pp. 185 et 207) announced that he obtained from the same hybrid, the pollen of which he always found useless, but he was able to fertilise it by that of IZ. Jalapa. The difference in the strength of the pollen and the ovules becomes still more M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 223 manifest in Nicotiana glauco-angustifolia (and it would un- doubtedly have been the case with NV. glauco-macrophylla if the experiment had been made on it), where the whole pollen mass is defective and inert, whilst the ovary he- comes filled with seeds, when it is fertilised with the pollen of N. Tabacum and N. macrophylla. All the hybrids I have observed, containing well-developed grains of pollen in their anthers, have been fertile, often to a high degree, by their ovaries. I have never seen, and I do not believe it possible to mention a single instance in which, the ovary being sterile, the stamens have been fertile, even in the least degree. The deleterious influence which hybridisation exercises upon the fertilising apparatus shows itself in different forms. The most common, or at least the most remarkable case, is the direct atrophy of the pollen in the anthers, more rarely the atrophy of the anthers themselves; but we have also seen it act on the entire flowers. It is so among all the hybrids produced by the agency of Datura Stramonium, the flowers in the lowest branches invariably fall without opening ; also among all the individuals of Luffa acutangulo - cylindrica of the first generation,—all the primary male flowers perish entirely, and also some flowers which begin to open when the plants are more than full grown, and have lost part of their vigour. The same phenomenon is observed in Mirabilis longijloro-Jalapa, which loses three-fourths of its buds, in Nicotiana rustico-paniculata and paniculato- rustica of three consecutive generations, &c. In fine, an- other mode of sterilisation is that effected by the changing of moncecious male flowers into female, as we have seen in Luffa hybrids of the third generation. I have every reason to believe, although I cannot posi- tively affirm so, that the specimen of Cucumis Figaret, so remarkably large, and peculiar by the nearly total absence of male flowers, which I experimented on in 1856, and which yielded the results | have mentioned, owed both its great size and almost female unisexuality to hybridi- sation. 224 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. (2.) On the Difference of the Fertility of Hybrids. Hybrids are self-fertile in all cases in which their anthers contain well-organised pollen ; but if the quantity is very small, it is well not to leave the impregnation to chance, but to aid artificially in fertilising the hybrid with its own pollen. I have done this in Luffa acutangulo-cylindrica of the first generation, which has but few male flowers and a small quantity of good pollen. In the majority of cases microscopic inspection sufficiently shows the character of the pollen; the difference in form, size, and transparency distinguishes the good and bad; and it is easy to judge, at least approximatively, of the relative quantity. Yet there are some cases, though not very common, where this examination of the pollen is not suffi- cient to determine whether it is active or inert; for it may happen that it has all the appearance of good pollen with- out having its qualities. Such was that of Mirabilis longi- jloro-Jalapa, whose grains, although unequal, were not deformed, and appeared full of fovilla, notwithstanding their inefficacy upon the stigmas of the two parent plants, as well as upon those of the hybrid. Perhaps the employ- ment of chemical reagents would better determine their impotency. There are various degrees of fertility in hybrids by means of pollen. We have seen Luffa acutangulo-cylindrica of the first generation extremely low in this respect, but in the third remarkably productive. It is the same, and nearly to the same degree, in Luffa amaro-cylindrica, Nicotiana rus- tico-paniculata, and paniculato-rustica, and in a great num- ber of the toad-flax hybrids (Linarta purpureo-violacea) of the second, third, fourth, and fifth generations. A greater richness of pollen is seen in Primula offeinals- grandiflora of the first, and especially second, generation, and in Cucumis Meloni-trigonus, &c. In fine, there are some hybrids where the pollen is little inferior, if at all, in per- fection to the most legitimate species. This is the case in Coccinia Schimpero-indica, Datura metelordo-Metel, D. Stramonio-Metel, D. Stramonio-levis, Nicotiana angustifolio- macrophylla, N. texano-rustica, N. persico-Langsdorffi, Pe- M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 225 tunia violaceo-nyctaginiflora, &c.; and the same in many of the toad-flax hybrids of the third and fourth generations, already very close to Linaria vulgaris. In a word, as I said at the commencement of this article, hybrids are found of all degrees of fertility, from the extreme case where the ovary only is fertile to that where all the pollen is as perfect as that of the best-established species. (3.) Is the Aptitude of Species to cross each other, and the Fer- tility of the Hybrids which result, proportional to the apparent Affinity of the Species ? In general this is the case ; but there are exceptions, and we have stated some. There are, indeed, some species, closely allied in exterior organisation and physiognomy, which are less disposed to mutual crossing than other species which are far distant in their outward appearance. Thus we have seen three species of eatable gourds, so closely re- sembling each other that most botanists fail to distinguish them, resist all attempts to cross them ; whilst the melon and Cucumis trigonus, so very different from one another, easily give origin to very fertile hybrids, though the pollen is a little defective. . Such is the case with Nicotiana glauca, which, although very distant from N. angustifolia and macrophylla, yet gives hybrids with them, having very fer- tile ovaries ; whilst NV. glutinosa, more difficult to cross with them, although belonging to the same section of the genus, only gives one sterile hybrid both by the pollen and ovary. I might also mention the crossing of D. Stramonium and D. ceratocaula, two species strangers to each other, from which there results a fertile hybrid, although attended by that peculiar kind of partial sterility which consists in the loss of the first flowers. These exceptions, for which it 1s probably impossible to assign a cause, do not prevent the affinity of species, as re- vealed by the exterior organisation, from indicating generally the degree of aptitude to cross, and do not prevent us from forming a conjecture to a certain extent as to the fertility of the hybrids. We have seen the proof in Datura Meteloido- Metel, D. Stramonio-Tatula and Tatulo-Stramonium, D. Stra- 226 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. monto-levis, Nicotiana texano-rustica and rustico-texana, N. angustifolio-macrophylla, &c., which hybrids, with the marked exception of those of D. Stramonium, have perfect fertility. The aptitude of species for mutual impregnation, and the degree of fertility of the hybrids which result, are therefore the true signs of their special affinity as regards generation ; and in the great majority of cases this affinity is indicated by the exterior organisation—in other words, by the phy- siognomy of the species. (4.) On the Physiognomy of Hybrids. To give a just idea of the aspect which hybrids present, it is essential to distinguish between the first generation and those which follow. I have always found in those hybrids which I have ob- tained myself, and whose origin has been well known to me, a great uniformity of aspect between individuals of the first generation, no matter how numerous, provided they proceed from the same crossing. This we have seen in Petunia violaceo-nyctaginiflora, Datura Tatulo-Stramonium, and D. Stramonio-Tatula, D. Meteloido-Metel, D. Stramonio- levis, Nicotiana texano-rustica, and N. rustico-texana, N. persico-Langsdorfiit, &c. I do not mean to say that all the individuals of the same crossing are absolutely counterparts of one another; there are sometimes slight variations between them, but not suf- ficient to alter the general uniformity in a sensible degree, and it does not appear to me that these differences are any ereater than those which are frequently seen between the seeds of legitimate species of the same production. In short, it may be said that hybrids which proceed from the same crossing, resemble each other, in the first gene- ration, as much as, or nearly as much as those which pro- ceed from the same legitimate species. Must it be admitted, as M. Klotzsch maintains, that mutual hybrids (those which proceed from the two possible crossings between the two species) are markedly differ- ent from each other; for example, the hybrid obtained from the species A fertilised by the species B, differs sensi- M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 227 bly from that which is obtained from the species B ferti- lised by the species A? I cannot deny this in an absolute manner; it would be necessary to see the hybrid which induced M. Klotzsch to make this statement; but I can assert, that all the mutual hybrids which I have obtained, as well between allied species as between distant ones, resembled one another as much as if they proceeded from the same crossing. I have already pointed this out when speaking of Datura Stramonio-Tatula and Tatulo-Stramonium, Nico- tiana paniculato-rustica and rustico-paniculata, N. angustt- folio-macrophylla and macrophyllo-angustifolia, N. texano- rustica, and rustico-texana, N. persico-Langsdorffit, Xe. ; without doubt it may not be always so, but if the factris true, if must be rare, and considered more as the exception than the rule. All hybridologists are agreed that hybrids (and it always applies to hybrids of the first generation), are mixed forms, intermediate between two parent species. And this is really what does take place in the great majority of cases; but it by no means follows that these intermediate forms are always at an equal distance between the two species. On the contrary, it is often observed that they are frequently much nearer one than the other. Besides, we may conceive, that the appreciation of these relations is always a little vague, and that itis the idea which determinesit. We may also remark that hybrids resemble sometimes one of the two species in one character, whilst they resemble the other in another character. This is very true, and we have seen an example in Mirabilis longifloro-Jalapa, which is dis- tinctly more like MW. longiflora in the organs of vegetation, and M. Jalapa in the flowers. But I think it is wrong to refer this distribution to the part which the species have played as father or mother in the crossing whence the hybrid has arisen. At least I have not seen anything which confirms this opinion. M. Regel asserts (Die Pflanze und ihr Leben, &c., p. 404, el suwv.), that when the hybrid proceeds from species of dif- ferent genera, their flowers bear the essential characters of those of the father; but we have seen in the Datura cerato- caulo-Stramomum, proceeding from two nearly generically 228 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. different species, the flowers were absolutely like those of the mother (D. Stramonium) ; in Nicotiana glauco-angusti- folia, and glauco-macrophylla obtained from very different species, they were remarkably more like those of the mother than those of the father; whilst in XN. calsfornico-rustica and glutinoso-macrophylla they were very distinctly inter- mediate between the parent species. The rule laid down by M. Regel seems to me therefore very hazardous, or at least founded upon insufficient data. For my own part, I believe that these inequalities in re- semblance, sometimes very great between the hybrid and its parents, are maintained chiefly by the marked preponder- ance which many species exercise in their crossings, what- ever may be the part which they act (whether as male or female). This we have seen in the hybrids of Petunia violacea and P. nyctaginiflora which have a greater resemblance to the first than the second; in Luffa acutangulo-cylindrica of which the forms are far more like Lujffa cylindrica than the conjoined species; and especially in Datura ceratocaulo- Stramonium aud D. Stramonio-levis, of which all the indi- viduals are incomparably nearer D. Stramonium than the other species, although in one case D. Stramonium fulfils the function of the male, and in the other that of the female. _ Commencing with the second generation, the phy- siognomy of hybrids is modified in a most remarkable man- ner. Very often the perfect uniformity of the first genera- tion is succeeded by an extreme medley of forms, the one approaching the specific type of the father, the other that of the mother—sometimes returning suddenly and entirely into the one or the other. At other times this recurrence to- wards the generating types is performed by degrees and slowly, and sometimes the whole collection of hybrids is seen to incline to the same side. I think it is now placed beyond dispute that this dis- solution of hybrid forms commences, in the great majority of cases (it may be in all) in the second generation. M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 229 (5.) On the return of Hybrids to the specific forms of the pro- ducing species. What is the cause which determines this return ? In every hybrid which I have examined, the second generation presented changes of aspect, and a manifest tendency to return to the forms of the producing species, and that under such conditions that it was impossible for the pollen of those species to have concurred in bringing them back. We have seen striking examples in Primula oficinalt-grandifiora, in all the hybrids of Datura Stra- montium, D. Meteloido-Metel, the mutual hybrids of Nicotiana angustifolia and macrophylla, N. persica, and Langsdorfit, Petunia violacea and nyctaginifiora, in Luffa acutangulo- cylindrica, and still more in Linaria purpureo-vulgaris. Among many of these hybrids, from the second generation, a complete return to one or. other, or even both, of the two parent species has been seen, and approaching them in different degrees; among many also we have observed forms continuing intermediate, whilst simultaneously other specimens of the very same production have effected the return of which I am about to speak. Further, we have stated in some cases (Linaria purpureo-vulgaris) that, in the third and fourth generation, true retrogression towards the hybrid form takes place ; and sometimes even we have seen individuals of a plant to all appearance wholly returned to one of the two species, which seemed to revert almost entirely into the opposite species. All these facts are naturally explained by the disjunction of the two specific essences in the pollen and ovules of the hybrid. A hybrid is an individual in which two different essences are found united, each having its particular mode of vegetation and finality, which are mutually opposed, and are constantly striving to disengage themselves from one another. Are these two essences intimately blended? Do they reciprocally penetrate evefy part, so that each particle of the hybrid plant, however minute or divided, contains equal portions of both ? It may be so in the embryo and first stages of the develop- ment of the hybrid ; but it'seems to me more probable that NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO, 11.—APRIL 1864. 26 230 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants, this last, at least in the adult state, is an aggregation of particles, both homogeneous and unspecific when taken separately, but distributed more or less equally between the two species, and mixed in different proportions in the organs of the plant. The hybrid, according to this hypo- thesis, would be a living mosaic, the discordant elements of which, so long as they remained mixed, would be undis- tinguishable to the eye ; but if, in consequence of their affini- ties, the elements of the same species approached each other and agglomerated themselves in small masses, parts and sometimes entire organs, would then be visible, as we have seen in Cytisus Adamt, and the bizarre group of the orange and citron hybrids, &. It is this tendency of two specific essences to disengage themselves from their com- bination, which has induced some hybridologists to say, that hybrids resemble the mother by their leaves and the father by their flowers. Although the facts may not be sufficiently numerous to conclude with certainty, it seems that the tendency of species to separate, or, so to speak, to localise themselves in various parts of the hybrid, increases with the age of the plant, and is more and more pronounced as the vegetation approaches its term. These disjunctions become more manifest in the highest organisms of hybrids, about the reproductive organs ; in Cytisus Adami disjunction shows itself in the flowering branches ; in the orange anomalies and Datura Stramonio-levis in the fruit itself. In Mirabilis longifloro-Jalapa and Linaria purpurea the corolla manifests the phenomenon of disjunction, by the separation of the colour peculiar to the producing species. These facts authorise the idea that the pollen and ovules, but especially the former, are precisely the parts of the plant where dis- junction goes on with most energy; and what adds a greater degree of probability to this hypothesis is, that they are at the same time very elaborate and minute organs—a double reason for rendering the localisation of the two essences more perfect. This hypothesis being admitted, and I confess it seems to me extremely probable, all the changes which supervene in hybrids of the second and more advanced generations would explain themselves, as it were ; M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 231 but if, on the contrary, it be not admitted, they would be perfectly inexplicable. Let us suppose in the Toadflax hybrid of the first genera- tion, that disjunction takes place both in the anther and contents of the ovary ; that some grains of pollen entirely belong to the paternal species, others to that of the mother ; that in others disjunction has not, or, at least, only just commenced. Again, let us suppose that the ovules are, to the same degree, separated both in the direction of the male and female parent; what will result when the pollen tubes descend into the ovary to fertilise the ovules? If the tube of a pollen grain, which has returned to the male parent, meet an ovule separated in the same direction, a perfectly legitimate fecundation will be produced, from which will result a plant entirely returned to the paternal species. A similar combination effected between a pollen grain and ovule, both returned to the female parent, the product will return in the same manner to the species of this last; if, on the contrary, combination is effected betwéen an ovule and pollen grain, separated in opposite directions, they will perform a true crossed fecundation, like that which gave origin to the hybrid itself; and there will again result a form intermediate between two specific types. The fer- tilisation of an ovule non-separated, by a pollen grain separated in either direction, would give a quadroon hybrid ; and since disjunctions, as much in the pollen as in the ovules, can take place in all degrees, every sort of possible combination will result as chance may direct. We have seen these multitudinous forms produced in the Toadflax hybrids, and Petunia from the second generation. The retrogression of a hybrid in its course of return to one of the parent species is also easily explained by this hypothesis. I mentioned several examples when speaking of the third generation of Linaria purpureo-vulgaris. Thus, for example, among eighty plants sprung from an individual of the second generation, which seemed to be entirely re- turned to L. purpurea, fresh hybrids appeared, which came back to the intermediate form of the first hybrid, and other individuals still more sensibly approached to JL. vulgaris. The reason is, that the purple-flowered hybrid of 232 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. the second generation, notwithstanding appearances, still retained some essence of the yellow-flowered Linaria, and this strange particle was sufficient to bring some pollen grains and ovules back either to a mixed state, or altogether to Linaria vulgaris. Similar actions are produced, though less marked, in the descent of hybrids of the second generation, which seem entirely returned to the type of Z. vulgaris, and even toa certain extent in that of Datura Stramonio-levis, where some individuals return to levis, preserving up to the third generation the accessory characters which belong to that form of hybrids. All these facts show us that the separa- tion of specific forms allied in hybrids, is not always com- pleted so rapidly as one might be led to suppose, judging from physiognomy and external appearance. The return of hybrids to the forms of the parent species is not always so sudden as that which we have observed in the Primroses, Petunias, Linaria purpureo-vulgaris, D. Meteloido-Metel, &c.; it is frequently completed by insensibly minute gradations continued through long series of genera- tions. We have seen, for example, in Luffa acutangulo- cylindrica, even in the third generation, that among forty individuals only one was found which had wholly reassumed the external appearance of L. cylindrica. Hybrids of Necotiana persica and Langsdorfit, raodify themselves slowly, and ten or even more generations may be insufficient to bring them back entirely to the specific forms. It is remarkable in the latter case, that the hybrids do not present any appreciable mark of disjunction of the two specific essences, which appear intimately blended together in every part of the plant. Nevertheless the traits of one of the two species sensibly disappear from generation to generation, as if extinguished by degrees; but it not un- frequently happens that this extinction takes place with such rapidity as to be completed in the second generation. En résumé, hybrids fertile and self-fertile return sooner or later to the specific types from which they were derived, and this return is effected either by the separation of the two mixed essences, or by the gradual extinction of one of M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 233 the two. In the latter case the hybrid posterity returns entirely and exclusively to one only of the two producing species. (6.) Are there any exceptions to the law of return of hybrids to the parent forms? Do certain hybrids become fixed and give rise to new species ? I have not been long enough engaged in the study of hybrids to have formed any settled opinion on this question. Many botanists of good authority believe that some hybrids, if not all, can become fixed and pass to the state of constant ae that is to say, true species, intermediate between those of their parents; this is in particular the opinion of M. Regel, who regards it as probable that in the group of willows, roses, and many other genera rich in nearly allied forms, the nomenclature of which is very embarrassing to the botanist, there originally existed but a small number of species (two or three), the fertile crossings of which have given rise to equally fertile hybrids, which, in their turn, crossing between themselves and their parents, have pro- duced, age after age, those multitudes of forms which exist at ite, present day. Such may be the case, but it is without proof, and the hypothesis is entirely gratuitous. In my opinion the fact may be explained otherwise in a much more natural and probable manner, viz., by the inherent property of all organisms (at least vegetable) to modify themselves to a certain extent according to the influence of the surrounding medium, in other words, by the innate tendency of what we call species to subdivide into secondary species. How can it be admitted, for example, that roses, which are dissemi- nated over the whole extent of the Old World, from Ireland to Kamschatka, from the Atlas and Himalayas to the glacial ocean, which cover all North America, which are often isolated in narrow spaces and different localities, can have met each other to give rise to hybrid forms ? It would be hardly possible to conceive such a fact. Have roses never been subjected to experiment to ascertain how far they can mutually hybridise, and if their hybrids 234 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. would be fertile or not? I can affirm this, that I have never obtained a hybrid which manifested the least tendency to form a specific stock. At present I only know a single instance en might serve as a basis for the hypothesis of fixation of hybrids. Still this fact is doubtful ; it is that of Adgilops, closely allied to wheat, which was cultivated at the Museum about ten years, during which the successive generations did not pro- duce any appreciable modification. It remains to be proved whether the Aigilops cultivated at the Museum (4. spelteformis, Jord.) is really a hybrid, and that it does not modify itself during a long series of generations: it would be an exception; but this very general rule would not be weakened, at least so long as the fact remained isolated. (7.) Is there any precise limit between Hybrids and Crosses ? Most hybridologists insist on making a distinction be- tween hybrids and crosses, and nothing could be more easy to understand ; the hybrid results from the crossing of two distinct species, two true species, as M. Regel says—the crosses from that of two races or varieties. Theoretically, nothing is more clear ; in practice, nothing is more difficult than the application of these two words. For example, ought the produce obtained by the crossing of the Cantaloup Melon and Netted Melon, that of the Netted Melon and Dudaim, that of Dudaim and Cucumis Panche- rianus, or even that of Datura Stramonium and of Datura Tatula, &c., to be called hybrids or crosses? This question gives rise to another, that of the distinction of species, races, and varieties, an everlasting subject of dispute among naturalists, which too often ends in a war of words un- worthy of the science; to settle which, it is necessary to turn to the examination of what is understood by the term Species, ace, and Variety. (8.) What, therefore, is a Species, Race, and Variety ? Let us start at the very origin of the notion of species, M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 235 and not lose sight of the fact that all our ideas arise from the contrast of things. The man blind from birth has no idea of darkness, because being deprived of the sensation of light he does not perceive the difference between the two ; even one possessed of sight would have no idea of the light which surrounds him if the whole world was luminous and that to the same degree. The notion of species does not escape the common law ; it is more complex, and is formed from more elements, as we shall attempt to elucidate. if there existed in nature but one vegetable form, wheat for instance, always and everywhere alike, without any variation in the innumerable individuals which represent it, we might arrive at the idea of an individual and vegetable, but not species ; wheat and vegetable would be confounded in one’s mind as one and the same thing. Let us suppose also that nature had created an inde- terminate number of different organisms, and each of them represented on the earth by only a single individual, inca- pable of multiplying itself, but indestructible and imperish- able ; even here we could not arrive at the conception of a species, for each type of organisation would be isolated, and have no resembling individual. To have a species it is necessary, therefore, lst, To have a plurality of similar individuals, that is to say, a group, a col- lection ; 2d, That this group or collection of individuals con- trast in some degree with other groups of individuals likewise resembling each other, and yet able to approach one an- other insome common points which render them comparable. It follows that the idea of species is connected with that of kind or genus (I mean genus taken in a philosophical sense) ; that the one fact always supposes the other; that, in a word, they are inseparable and unable to exist apart. And as, in the organic world, individuals have a transitory existence, reproducing themselves by generation, it is neces- sary, 3dly, In order that species may have consistence and duration—that the resemblance of individuals forming a spe- cific collection shall continue in successive series of generations. Thus a plurality of similar individuals forming a group, and the contrast of groups among themselves by certain 236 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. characters common to different groups; and, lastly, The perpetuation of resemblances between the. individuals of the same group constitute the elements of species. Species contain nothing more or less. It is not, therefore, an ideal type, as certain abstract- loving naturalists have suggested ; it 1s essentially a collec- tion of similar individuals. The abstract ideal type of a common organisation is only, as it were, a tie, which in our mind collects similar individuals in the same bundle, and sums up the contrasts (or differences) which separate their group from every other. It is necessary, then, to return to the pure and simple definition of Cuvier,—viz., A species is a collection of indi- viduals descended from one another, or from common parents, and from those which resemble them as much as they resemble themselves. Let us remark, in passing, that in thus defining species, Cuvier did not take races and varieties into consideration. Everywhere where there is a group of similar individuals, contrasting in some measure with other groups, and pre- serving through a series of generations the physiognomy and organisation common to all the individuals,—there ts a specres. It is by their contrast that species are distinguished from one another, and it is by comparison that their contrasts appear. Contrasts may be more or less great according to the objects compared. If they are very great and well marked, all the world acknowlege the specific distinction of the compared forms; if they are very weak, almost in- appreciable, opinions are divided ; one party separating the feebly contrasting forms into distinct specific groups, the other collecting them into one, and applying to them in the mean time the qualifications of races or varieties. These collections and separations are purely optional, and they can have no other rule than scientific or economic ad- vantage ; in order to determine them it is necessary to be endowed with a certain tact which is ordinarily acquired by experience, In short, there is no qualitative difference between species, races, and varieties ; it is idle to seek one. These M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 237 three things are formed from one, and the terms which pre- tend to distinguish them only indicate degrees of contrast between compared forms. It must be understood that here the question is not con- cerning simple individual variations, non-transmissible by way of generation, but only forms common to an indefinite number of individuals, and transmitting themselves faith- fully and indefinitely by generation. Contrasts between compared forms are of all degrees, from the strongest to the weakest, which simply means that following the comparisons which are established between groups of similar individuals, species are found of all degrees of strength and weakness; and if it was attempted to ex- press these degrees in so many words, the whole vocabulary would be insufficient. The delineation of species is therefore as I said before entirely optional ; it makes them larger or smaller, accora- ing to the importance which is given to the resemblances and difference of various groups of individuals taken with respect to each other, and these appreciations vary accord- ing to men, times, and phases of science. How many modifications have certain great species of Linnzeus and Jussieu undergone during fifty years! The division of old species, their pulverisation, if T may use such a term, seems to have now reached its extreme limits, and many botanists are led by this tendency to com- plicate the descriptive part of the science in such a way as to threaten to involve the whole life of a man in its minutia. Notwithstanding this, if those who have inaugurated these scientific refinements have not committed error by taking individual alterations, non-transmissible and not forming a group, that is to say simple variations, for forms common to an indefinite number of individuals, very constant and very faithfully transmissible in every consecutive generation, there is reason to believe that they have proceeded logically. The whole question is to know if it be advantageous to science to distinguish and enrol in its catalogues, these feebly contrasting species ; but it is essentially necessary to be assured that the characters which are assigned them are really specific—that is tosay, common to an unlimited nuin- NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIX. NO. 11.—APRIL 1864. 2H 238 M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. ber of individuals, and always faithfully reproduced in every generation. : But it is more than probable that in a multitude of cases (in the genus Rubus, for example) purely individual varia- tions without persistence, have been taken for common characters, constant and transmissible. Does it then follow that the terms race and variety ought to be banished from the science? Certainly not, for they are convenient to designate weak species that ought not to be enrolled among the official species, but it 1s proper to give them their true signification, which is absolutely the same as that of species properly so-called, and to see in forms designated by these terms some unity of a weak kind, which might be neglected without inconvenience to the science. 9. Can Artificial Hybridisation furnish amark to determine what it is proper to distinguish as Species ? : I have not the least doubt but that there are some cases where it would be of a slight assistance, and again a greater number where it would not be practicable. Here are some examples of its practical utility. I have stated before, in speaking of the three species of eatable gourds, that they but slightly differ in outward ap- pearance, and even by their intimate characters, for most botanists cannot clearly distinguish them; Linneeus himself confounded them in one. But these three plants refuse to give hybrids by mutual crossing ; they are then three self- governed species perfectly distinct. M. Dunal, in his Monograph of Solanacee, combines into one species Datura Stramonium and D. Tatula, considering them as simple varieties of the same species. But the pro- duce of their crossing does not vegetate altogether like these two forms; it grows much larger and flowers less, inasmuch as it loses its flower-buds in the seven or eight first branches. This disturbance caused in the vegetation of the mixed produce, is an indubitable sign of a difference in the autonomy of the two parent forms; therefore these forms ought to be held as distinct species. Fdant New Phil. Journal New Serves, Vol. XIX. PLIT. iH Fig. 1. aaa ee ES ee SS a SS ——— ges ———= ae £2 eee — ——S—S SS SS SSeS SSS aaa SS SS SS SSS SSS 8 uy aS W.H.M° Farlane Lith? Ediné M. Ch. Naudin on Hybridity in Plants. 239 Datura Metel and Meteloides are at least as nearly allied to one another as.the two preceding ; but, from the second generation, their hybrids cease to resemble them, and a certain number of individuals return to one or other of the two parent forms. Let us therefore conclude that these forms are specific, that they each have their autonomy and deserve, notwithstanding their affinity, to be distinguished from one another. Nicotiana macrophylla and N. angustifolia combined in the ‘“ Prodromus” of De Candolle with NV. Tabacum, give hybrids which, after the second generation, manifest a very appreci- able commencement of return towards the producing forms. These last have therefore also their manner of growth pro- per to each of them. Why do we not admit them as dis- tinct in our botanical catalogues ? But when the forms are so closely allied to one another that they are with difficulty distinguished, their hybrids must differ still less from one another than they differ be- tween themselves. The data furnished by hybridisation, therefore, here lose their value ; but then it becomes a mat- ter of indifference, whether to separate the two forms as distinct species, or to combine them, by the title of simple varieties, under a common specific denomination. It follows from all we have said, that the application of the terms hybrid and cross is determined by the rank which may be assigned to the individuals from the crossing of which the mixed forms requiring to be named have been produced—that is to say, it is entirely left to the judgment and tact of the nomenclator. On Diplostemonous Flowers ; with some Remarks wpon the Position of the Carpels in the Malvacee. By ALEXANDER Dickson, M.D., Edin. (Plate III.)* It has long been known that in Geranium and its allies, the stamens superposed to the petals are external to those superposed to the sepals. That this is the case is very dis- tinctly seen in the adult state, where the dilated bases of the filaments of the outer stamens overlap those of the inner, * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Feb. 11, 1864. 240 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, We. Before these plants were examined organogenically, the outer stamens were, not unnaturally, assumed to be the older; and, as this involved a want of due alternation of parts, it was imagined that a third and outermost whorl of stamens alternating with the petals must have aborted, the idea being held to be countenanced by the frequent occur- rence, in these plants, of five glands outside the andrcecium and alternating with the petals.* When, however, the de- velopment of the parts was observed, the unsoundness of this theory became evident; for it was found that the outer stamens are the younger; and, moreover, that the glands do not appear until shortly before the time of blossoming.} The fact of the younger whorl of stamens being external to the older one is remarkable, as being exactly the reverse of what one would, a priort, have expected. The question as to how stamens should be so arranged, is an interesting one, and derives great importance from the researches of Payer having shown that this arrangement, so far from being un- common, obtains in the greater number of diplostemonous dicotyledons. In attempting an explanation of this difficulty, Lam fully aware of the delicacy of the questions involved; and I would offer the result of my consideration of the subject, more as a suggestion worthy of being kept in view by those who may examine diplostemonous flowers, organogenically or otherwise, than as a definite solution of the problem. In short, I would submit a posszble solution, to be substantiated or negatived by more extended and comprehensive observa- tion of the facts. Of diplostemonous flowers, there are two principal forms which demand our attention :— 1st, That in which the younger staminal whorl is the more internal, and the carpels, when of the same number, alternate with the younger stamens. Examples—Corzarza,{ * Maout, Atlas de Botanique, p. 60. Balfour, Class-Book of Botany, p. 788, fig. 1485, with description. t Payer, Organogénie, p. 59; pls. 12 and 18: the development of the glands in EHrodium is shewn in pl. 12, figs. 17 and 21. t Ibid., p. 49; pl. 10. Limmanthes, in all probability, comes under the game head. Although Payer describes the younger stamens in 1. Douglasi as the more external, his figure (pl. 10, fig. 21) does not seem to bear out Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, ac. 241 Agrostemma, Cerastium (e.g. C.. triviale),* Lasiopetalum (e.g. L. corylifolium),} Lilium, &. (Pl. IIL, fig. 2.) Com- paratively few dicotyledons, but almost all diplostemonous monocotyledons, fall under this head. 2d, That in which the younger stamens are the more ex- ternal, and the carpels, when of the same number, alternate with the older stamens. Examples—Geraniwm, Erica, Malachium, &c. (fig. 1.) As I have already mentioned, the greater number of diplostemonous dicotyledons fall under this head. Tn the first of these two forms of diplostemony (that in which the younger stamens are the more internal), the ar- rangement requires no explanation, as it corresponds with the ordinary centripetal evolution of successive whorls upon an aXis. The case, however, is widely different where the younger stamens are the more external. Here we seem to have a centrifugal succession of parts upon an axis. Have we any analogies to guide us in explaining this apparent anomaly ? What suggests itself most naturally in this regard is per- haps the case of polyadelphous flowers, where the members of each staminal group are usually developed in centrifugal the statement, for there the circle of the younger stamens appears almost to coincide with that of the older ones, or, if anything, to be somewhat smaller than it. In the more advanced stages, the younger stamens are very distinctly the more internal. At all events, the plant requires re-investigation upon this point. * T have examined, with great care, the development of the stamens in Agrostemma Flos-Jovis and Cerastium triviale, and in both of them I can confi- dently state the younger stamens to be the more internal. I have given figures of young flowers of these two plants(Plate III., figs. 12 and 138). Payer has, on the contrary, stated that the older stamens in Cerastiwm are the more internal; but his figures do not indicate this very satisfactorily. To judge from my own experience of C. triviale, I should imagine it to be very difficult to determine which staminal whorl is the more internal, when the flower is viewed so much from above as those represented by Payer (Organogénie, pl. 72, figs. 7and 8). In all flowers like Cerastiwm, where the receptacle is very con- vex, it is very necessary to obtain a completely side view, so as to see the difference in elevation of the different parts. In flowers with flat receptacles, on the other hand, the view from above is the most advantageous, as the parts are no longer on higher and lower elevations, but on larger and smaller circles. Tt Organogénie, pl. 9, fig, 4.—Though the fact is not mentioned in his text, Payers figure leaves no doubt as to the younger stamens (staminodes) in this plant being on a smaller and more internal circle than the older. 242 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, de. succession upon a cushion-lke body which precedes their appearance. Payer has, however, by the most convincing arguments, determined the staminal phalanges of poly- adelphous flowers to be compound stamens, the parts of which, when centrifugally developed, correspond to the basipetally developed leaflets or lobes of ordinary leaves ; so that in these flowers we have no real examples of centrifugal succession of parts upon an axis. A curious arrangement, however, is described by Payer as occurring in Opuntia, where vast numbers of stamens are developed in centrifugal succession, and apparently distributed uniformly round the receptacle. We may arrive at a comprehension of this re- markable form, if we direct our attention to certain cases which appear to connect 1t with more easily intelligible forms. In Brathys (Hypericum) prolifica, Payer has shown that the staminal cushions (which usually remain distinct in the Hypericaceze) become fused together, at an early period, into a single nearly uniform annular cushion, upon which the stamens make their appearance centrifugally. Again, in Cistus, he has shown that, in the early condition, the centrifugally developed stamens exhibit distinct traces of grouping, although the annular cushion, on which they are developed, is always entire. From Cvzstus we pass at once to Helianthemum, where all trace of grouping in the stamens disappears,* presenting us with a condition quite analogous to that in Opuntia. Such a series of forms leaves us in no doubt that in Opuntia, as in Helianthemum and OCistus, we have merely an extreme case of the fusion of compound stamens, which differs from that in Brathys only in being congenital, while in that plant it does not com- mence uutil a little after the appearance of the staminal cushions. . In connection with the above, I must not omit allusion to Payer’s own determination of the signification of the an- dreecium in Cistus; and as the questions suggested by it have no unimportant bearing upon the subject of this paper, I may be excused the apparent digression of commenting upon it. In this plant he has found that the stamens * Organogénie, p. 17, plate iil. fig. 26. Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, &c. 243 make their appearance in centrifugal succession upon an annular cushion surrounding the centre of the floral axis, and in this wise :—in the first place, a circle of five stamens, superposed to the sepals, makes its appearance on the upper part of the annular cushion; later, alternate with and below these, a second circle of five stamens is developed ; still later and lower, ten stamens appear, one on either side of each of the stamens of the second circle; lastly, a great number of stamens continue the centrifugal succession till the annular cushion is completely covered. “From this mode of staminal development,” he says, ‘‘may we not conclude that the andreecium of Cistus is composed of only two whorls: the one superposed to the sepals, in which the stamens remain simple and are the more internal; the other superposed to the petals, in which the stamens are grouped in five bundles, the stamens in each bundle appearing from above downwards.”* Here, I cannot but think, Payer has introduced an un- necessary complication into the subject. His interpretation involves at least one serious improbability,—that in the same flower there should be both simple and compound stamens. What induced him to adopt this opinion was no doubt the consideration that, if the five stamens of the first degree, which are superposed to the sepals, were assumed to be the apices of staminal groups, the stamens of the second degree, which are superposed to the petals, must occupy neutral territory between these groups. He seems not to have taken notice of the fact which his figure} plainly indicates, that the same difficulty occurs again lower down, where there are stamens (apparently of the fifth degree) super- posed to the petals, and therefore also on neutral terri- tory. The same thing appears still more strikingly in his figures of Capparis (the andreecium of which he has recognised as being similar to that of Custus), where it will be seen that in every second or third generation of stamens there are some occupying neutral territory. There seems, therefore, to be no more reason for con- sidering the stamens of the second degree as the apices of staminal groups than for so viewing any of the other sta- * Op. cit pp. 16,517. T Op. ert. plate 3, fig. 18. 244 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, ke. mens of inferior degree which may be superposed to the petals. It appears to me that in Cistus and Capparis, all the stamens superposed to the petals (including of course the stamens of the second degree) must be looked upon simply as neutral structures, resulting from the coalescence of parts at the points of fusion of the contiguous groups, just as “‘interpetiolar stipules” are neutral structures, re- sulting from the coalescence of the stipules of opposite leaves at the points of fusion of the leaf-bases. This analogy will at once be admitted as a legitimate one, when it is remembered that stipules are nothing but lobes of the leaf. To sum up, I think it is sufficiently evident from the foregoing considerations, that all the instances of indefinite stamens exhibiting an apparent deviation from the law of centripetal succession of leaves upon an axis, may be re- solved into cases of compound stamens with development of lobes from above downwards. From this conclusion we are naturally led to inquire whether those diplostemonous forms, where the younger stamens are the more external, may not in like manner be found to be merely apparent deviations from the ordinarily recognised laws of leaf-succession ? We are at least bound to show that the phenomenon is incapable of explanation by the action of known laws, before we admit it to be an example of centrifugal succession of leaves upon an axis.* In the Geraniacece, which, as I have already mentioned, exhibit this form of diplostemony, the genus Monsonia presents the remarkable peculiarity of having ten stamens in the younger and outer circle, arranged in five pairs superposed to the petals.| Payer considered that these five * It may be observed that I have here left out of view the centrifugal evolu- tion of ovules upon central placentas. I have done so, because it is vain to discuss this subject until we have more definite notions than at present pre- vail on the morphological value of the ovule itself. If the ovule represents a modified leaf, the ovular groups will probably fall under the same category with the staminal groups of polyadelphous plants, the placental elevations cor- responding to the staminal bosses or cushions. If, on the other hand, the ovule is to be viewed as a bud or branch, analogies may be sought for among contracted centrifugal inflorescences. {+ Similarly, in the Zygophyllacee, the five outer and younger stamens of Zygophyllum, &c., are replaced in Peganum by five pairs of stamens superposed to the petals.—Payer, Organogénie, p. 69; pl. 14, fig. 28. Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, &e. 245 pairs represented the five single stamens of the outer whorl in Geranium congenitally deduphcated.* At first sight, this view seems unexceptionable, since there is no doubt as to the parts being homologous. It appears to me, however, that if we were to invert Payer’s statement, and say that in Geranium there is a congenital connation, in pairs, of the parts of the outer circle, which are distinct in Monsonia, we should thereby be enabled at once to explain the apparent anomaly of a younger whorl being external to an older one. If, in fact, we adopt a line of argument analogous to that which Payer himself has employed in determining the sig- nification of the epicalyx in the Potentillide, the whole difficulty, it seems to me, disappears. “In Fragaria collina,” he says, ‘‘ we always observe a calicule, composed sometimes of five leaflets alternate with the sepals, some- times of ten leaflets grouped in pairs which alternate with the sepals; and, as this calicule appears always after the calyx, it cannot be doubted that it is formed by the stipules of the sepals.” (Op. cit. p. 508.) Now, in the Gera- niaceze we have an outer staminal whorl, which consists sometimes (as in Geranium) of five stamens alternate with the parts of the inner whorl, and sometimes (as in Mon- sonia) of ten stamens grouped in pairs which alternate with the parts of the inner whorl. Moreover, these outer stamens appear after the inner ones. The parallelism of these two cases, as regards the number, position, and order of succes- sion, of the parts, is quite complete; for we have in the Geraniaceze an outer whorl whose relation to the inner one in these respects is exactly the same as that which the ap- parent outer calycine whorl of Fragaria bears to the inner one, or calyx proper. The presumption, raised by this comparison, that the outer stamens in Geraniacee represent the lateral lobes of the inner or primary ones, distinct, or congenitally connate in pairs like interpetiolar stipules, amounts almost to a cer- tainty, when we consider the mode in which the penta- delphous condition of Monsonia occurs, where each stamen of the inner whorl is connate with two of those of the outer * Op. cit. p. 60: NEW SFRIES,—VOL. XIX. NO. I1.—APRIL 1864. 2a 246 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, ke. —one on either side,—offering the closest analogy to a leaf with lateral lobes, or with adnate stipules. That the pre- sumed interstaminal lobes—if I may so call them—in Geranum should so closely resemble, in all essentials, the primary stamens, need not surprise any one who bears in mind instances like Galiwm cruciatum, where the interpetio- lar stipules differ in no respects from the leaves between which they are placed.* It is evident that if the foregoing reasoning holds good as to the Geraniaceee, we must extend its application to all the numerous cases where a similar diplostemonous ar- rangement occurs. All such plants, if my view be adopted, must be considered, strictly speaking, as isostemonous, the members of the outer staminal circle consisting merely of the lateral lobes of the primary stamens which form the inner circle. We may now proceed to examine what bearing the posi- tion of the carpels may have on this question. I have already stated that where the younger whorl of stamens is * It may perhaps be thought that | am begging a question a little, in this allusion to the stipules of the Galiacee. Although the stipulary nature of these organs has been admitted by many very eminent botanists, yet I would not thus have assumed their opinion to be correct, had I not satisfied myself on the subject by examination of the course of development in Galium aparine where I can positively testify to the appearance, in the first place, of opposite leaves, followed afterwards by the development of intervening lobes, two or three on either side of the axis. I can hardly doubt that the leaf develop- ment in the Galiacez has been traced by others, but I have not succeeded in finding any references to it. + It is perhaps worthy of remark that Payer has shown that the ‘“ stami- nodes” of Linum are not developed until after the fertile stamens are so far advanced as to indicate the distinction between anther and filament, and after the carpels have made their appearance. (See Organogénie, pl. 13, figs. 6 and 7; with description, p. 67.) Now, if these staminodes in Linum represent, as Payer suggests (loc. cit. p. 66), the staminodes in Hrodium, and these last con- stitute a true whorl of sterile stamens, it is very difficult to understand their very late appearance. If, on the other hand, we adopt the view stated above, as to the younger and outer stamens being merely the lateral lobes of the primary ones, and analogous to leaf lobes or leaf stipules, this diffi- culty disappears ; since there is nothing surprising in such structures appear- ing at a comparatively late period, and it is quite in accordance with what one observes in the case of staminal groups, where frequently the greater number of the stamens (lobes of the compound stamens) are developed after the appearance of the carpels. Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, hc. 247 the more internal (as in Agrostemma, &c.), the carpels, when of the same number, alternate with the younger stamens ; but that, where the younger whorl of stamens is the more external (as in Geranium, &c.), the carpels alternate with the older stamens.” The position of the carpels in the first of these two forms requires no explanation, since it is manifestly in accordance with the usual rule of alternation of floral whorls. In the second form of diplostemonous arrangement (that in Geranium, &c.), the case is apparently very different. Here the carpels alternate with the older stamens, and are thus superposed to the stamens developed next to them in order of time. Ifthe outer and younger stamens in this form be regarded as forming a true staminal whorl, and as of equal value with the older whorl, we must admit a very extensive series of exceptions to the rule of alternation of whorls. On the other hand, if we view the younger stamens here as forming a merely adventitious whorl, the symmetry becomes at once intelligible, since the stamens with which the carpels alternate are then the only ones of primary importance. The fact of my interpretation of this staminal arrangement satisfactorily explaining away such a large number of apparent exceptions to the rule of alterna- tion of whorls, is, I think, no small argument in favour of its being well founded. It is further to be noted that, when, in a group of plants exhibiting this pseudo-diplostemonous arrangement, the outer and younger stamens disappear, the position of the * Some may be inclined to think that the circumstance of the carpels oc- cupying different positions in these two cases is not a point of much import- ance; that the carpels are only growing out where they have most space for expansion. It is quite true, as matter of fact, that the carpels here do occupy the places where they have most room ; but it appears to me impossible to re- flect at all upon the arrangement of the parts of flowers, and admit that this arrangement is primarily dependent upon any such simple law of packing, if I may so express it. That such a law cannot be viewed as the basis of the arrangement of floral parts, must, I think, be apparent, when the not un- frequent instances of superposition of successive whorls are considered ; for in these instances the parts are certainly not developed where there is most room. The fundamental conditions are more likely to be found in the modi- fications of a contracted spiral, than in the mere influence of surrounding parts upon nascent structures. 248 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, cc. carpels is unaffected by such disappearance. This, of course, is only what might have been expected, if the outer stamens are viewed as merely accessory parts. Thus, in the Hricacee, we have in most of the species of Ledwm the apparent dip- lostemony which is frequent in the family, while in Ledum latifolium the younger stamens disappear; and yet in this species the carpels are superposed to the petals just as in the others.* In Epacris, so nearly allied to the heaths, we have also an absence of the stamens superposed to the petals ; and yet the carpels have the same position as in the HKricaceee. Contrasted with this, it is striking to observe the consequence of the disappearance of the younger stamens in a group of plants exhibiting what I believe to be a true diplostemonous arrangement—one where the younger stamens are the more internal. I have already mentioned, as an example of this arrangement, a Buttneriaceous plant, Lasiopetalum corylifolium, the organogeny of which has been given by Payer. Here, the fertile stamens, which form the outer and older whorl, are superposed to the petals; the inner and younger whorl consists of staminodes alternate with the older stamens; and the carpels alternate with the staminodes, and are thus superposed to the petals. In Hermannia, on the other hand, where only the fertile stamens superposed. to the petals exist, the carpels are no longer superposed to the petals, but are now found super- posed to the sepals, occupying, apparently, the place of the missing staminodes. In the Dombeyez, Baillon has de- scribed in Astrapea a single whorl of staminal groups, with the carpels similarly superposed to the sepals. * T am indebted to a friend for the facts regarding Ledum. 7+ In the Bittneresx, moreover, Baillon has shown (Adansonia, II. p. 168) that in Biittneria, &c., the fertile stamens superposed to the petals are, as in Lasiopetalum corylifolium, older than the staminodes which alternate with the petals, and that the carpels are also, as in that plant, superposed to the petals. He has not stated which of these whorls is the more internal; but I can scarcely doubt that further investigation will show that the staminodes are the more internal. 7 t Payer has observed (Organogénie, p. 45) that in Melhanza the carpels are similarly superposed to the sepals, and I have been able to confirm his observa- tion. I have also found that in Pentapetes the carpels occupy the same position. It is probable that this arrangement obtains in the Dombeyee generally. The genus Melhania exhibits the simplest form of andrcecium that occurs in Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, cc. 249 If my explanation of the apparent diplostemony in the Geraniaceze be admitted, the analogy between such an ar- rangement and that of polyadelphous stamens will be at once allowed. In this regard, it is not unimportant to inquire whether these two forms may not sometimes pass into one another; and I believe that instances of a passage of this kind do really occur. the Dombeyezx. In Welhania incana there are five staminodes superposed to the petals, and five stamens which apparently alternate exactly with the staminodes. At first sight, the arrangement of parts in this plant seems very incomprehensible. Here are apparently two staminal whorls, and yet the carpels are superposed to the sepals, as in the isostemonous Hermannia. On further examination and reflection, however, I have come to the conclusion that the diplostemony here is only apparent, and that we have merely to do with a much reduced form of the staminal groups which are found in Astrapea. In Melhania incana, the stamens and staminodes are connected below into a _ short tube or ring, which adheres to the petals at points corresponding to the bases of the staminodes. When, however, we detach the corolla from the flower, the staminal ring becomes broken into five parts, a stamen and a staminode coming away with each petal. In those flowers which I have examined, the stamen is always to the left side of the staminode, which, as I have already stated, is superposed to the petal, and adherent to it by its base. From the regularity with which the rupture of the staminal ring takes place, it seems reasonable to infer that the fertile stamens do not exactly occupy the indifferent or neutral position between the staminodes which we should expect , were this a case of two alternating whorls. In MM. decanthera, where, instead of one stamen, there are two in each inter- val between the staminodes, I find that of these two stamens there is always a longer and a shorter one, whose position to right or left as regards each other is constant in the same flower, although differing in different flowers. These facts seem to indicate that the pairs of stamens here have not an indifferent relation to the staminodes between which they are placed. When we consider how easy the transition is from Melhania (through M. decanthera) to Dombeya, which again is closely allied to Astrapewa where Baillon has distinctly traced the origin of the stamens and staminodes to five groups superposed to the petals, we can scarcely doubt that the andrcecium of Mcelhania is referable to a polyadelphous type, and thus the difficulty as to the position of its carpels disappears. It will probably be very difficult, in the Dombeyee, without organogenic exa- mination, to apportion the fertile stamens to their proper groups, as they appear to vary very widely in their ultimate relation to the staminodes: thus, in Dombeya viburnifiora (Bot. Mag. tab. 4568), the fifteen fertile stamens are collected into five bundles, which apparently alternate with the staminodes : while, in an opposite direction, an example may be found in Trochetia grandi- flora (Bot. Reg. tab. 21), where the stamens and staminodes unite to form five phalanges, each phalanx consisting of a staminode from which four fertile filaments spring, two on either side. 250 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, ce. In the Aurantiacex, we have, in Citrus, staminal groups, of which Payer has fully detailed the development. These groups alternate with the petals. In each group, the suc- cessive evolution of the stamens extends, in single line, later- ally to right and left from a central oldest stamen super- posed to a sepal; those stamens, therefore, being youngest, which are furthest removed from the central stamen or terminal lobe of the compound stamen.* Payer, moreover, describes the arrangement in Tiphrasia trifoliata, in the same family, as diplostemonous with the carpels superposed to the petals. The fact of the carpels here being super- posed to the petals is important, as such an arrangement cannot fail to recall that in Geranium, Erica, &c., and of course suggests that the diplostemony in Tiphrasia, and many other Aurantiacee, is of the same spurious character as in these plants. Now, if this is the case, does not the androecium of Crtrus bear to that of T%phrasia, a relation exactly analogous to that which the whorl of apparent leaves of Galium aparine, consisting of opposite leaves, with a plu- rality of intervening lobes, does to that of G. cruciatum, where the intervening lobes are reduced to one on either side of the axis? Again, in the Philadelphacee, there are, in Philadelphus, staminal groups, the development of which, as described by Payer, is strikingly like that in Crtrus ; while we have an apparent diplostemonous form oomnne in Deutaa. But we seem further to have a form intermediate between Philadelphus and Deutzia, in Decumaria, which is described as having thrice as many stamens as petals, there being single stamens superposed to the sepals, and pairs of stamens superposed to the petals.| Thus, in the Philadelphacez, we have—lst, in Philadelphus, compound stamens with indefinite lobes ; 2d, in Decumaria, a reduction in the num- ber of the staminal lobes, resulting in a condition apparently analogous to that in Monsonia ; and 3d, in Deutzia, an apparent diplostemony, probably analogous to that in Geranium, &c.t * Payer, Organogénie, p. 114, pl. 25. t+ Endlicher, Genera, p. 1187. t Visnea, in the Ternstrcemiacee, is probably another example of a reduced polyadelphous form. In V. mocanera, Payer has shown that, of its 15 stamens, Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, &c. 251 Although we must avoid attaching undue weight to the foregoing facts as to the Aurantiacee and Philadelphacee— the organogenic evidence being far from complete—yet it may be allowed, I think, that such facts at least heighten the presumption in favour of the justness of my views as to the constitution of the andreecium in Geranium, &c. If my conjectures are well founded, it is possible that the younger stamens in T%phrasia and Deutzia may be found to appear on the same circle with the older ones, just as in Citrus and Philadelphus all the staminal lobes are on one circle, or nearly so. Having stated my reasons for believing the diplostemony in Geranium and the like, to be merely apparent, I would now allude to certain objections whieh may be urged against that view. It may be said that such diplostemony may occur in plants whose leaves are neither lobed uor stipulate. In Malachiwn, for example, the leaves are entire and ex-stipulate. Re- garding such an objection, I would observe that, in the case of compound stamens, which I believe affords us the closest analogy with this form of diplostemony, there is not only no necessary coincidence between the lobed or compound condition of the stamens and a similar condition of the leaves in the same plant, but there is not even any neces- 5 are superposed to the sepals, and 10, in 5 pairs, to the petals. The stamens superposed to the sepals are the first developed, and appear simultaneously. In each of the pairs superposed to the petals, however, there is an older and a younger stamen. From Payer’s figure (Organogénie, pl. 154, fig. 25), it would appear that the position of the older and younger stamen, in each pair, to right and left, as regards each other, is uniform; so that each of the primary stamens superposed to the sepals has an older stamen on the one side and a younger on the other. There is evidently here an alternate succession of secondary staminal lobes, analogous, so far as it goes, to what has been described by Payer in Malvaviscus, and by Payer and Baillon in Euphorbia. The andreecium of Visnea cannot fail to recall that of Melhania decanthera, described in a former note, and I have no doubt that. the two cases are quite analogous, only, the apices of the reduced staminal groups are represented by staminodes in Melhania decanthera, the intervening unequal pairs of lobes being alone fertile. Aristotelia, in the Tiliacez, is evidently also a reduced polyadelphous form, being described as having 5 inner stamens superposed to the sepals, and 10 outer in 5 pairs superposed to the petals (Payer, Lecons sur les fam. nat., p. 278.) 252 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, cdc. sary correspondence between the mode of succession of the staminal and foliar lobes, when both stamens and leaves, in the same plant, happen to be lobed. Thus, in the Hypericaceze, Myrtacee, &c., we have examples of families characterised by their compound stamens, and yet remark- able for the simplicity of their leaves ; and in Cajophora (Loasa) lateritia, where the stamens are developed in succession from above downwards, or basipetally, upon the staminal cushions,* I find the pinne of the leaf to be developed from below upwards, or basifugally. From such considerations it may be inferred that we need not expect any necessary association of lobed or stipulate leaves with pseudo-diplostemonous flowers.+ Should any one be inclined to imagine that the facts I have just been stating at all invalidate Payer’s determination of staminal groups as compound stamens, I would have it borne in mind that itis no more surprising that there should be entire leaves and compound stamens in the Myrtacee, &., than that in many other plants there should be lobed leaves and simple stamens ; or, again, that in Cajophora there should be basipetal development of staminal lobes with basipetal development of leaf-lobes, than that these two modes of development should often occur together in the same leaf, as they do in the so-called mixed leaf-formation.{ * Payer, Organogénie, p. 391, pl. 84. + I may observe, however, that in some plants with pseudo-diplostemonous flowers, the leaves are not only stipulate, but exhibit a tendency to the forma- tion of interpetiolar stipules. A. P. de Candolle has remarked that ‘“ several Geraniacee present this peculiarity [fusion of stipules] in a very evident man- ner.” (Organographie Végétale ; Paris, 1827 ; tome i. p. 389.) In some Geraniacesz I find a very remarkable condition, which, so far as I know, is without parallel in other plants. In Hrodium hymenodes, for example, where all the leaves are opposite, there are invariably, between each pair of leaves, on the one side of the axis a single, entire or slightly bifid, znterpetiolar stipule, and on the other side a pair of free stipules, the one of which pair overlaps the other, from their bases passing each other. I find a similar arrangement in #. cicutarium, Pelargonium zonale and allied forms, P. scutatum, &c., whenever the leaves happen to be opposite. Again, in Spergula (which, like Malachium, has ten stamens, and five carpels superposed to the petals) there are interpetiolar stipules; and similar stipules exist in the allied Lepigonum. + Cobcea scandens affords a very pretty example of the association of basipetal Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, kc. 253 It has been suggested to me, that if we were to admit the occurrence of accessory stamens, there would be no reason why these might not sometimes be placed on the same circle with, or even internal to, the primary ones, just as stipulary lobes may appear on the same level with the base of a leaf, or, as in the so-called axillary stipule, above it or on its inner face. I have already, when treating of Tiphrasia and Deutzia, admitted the possibility of accessory stamens being on the same circle with the primary ones. As to accessory stamens being internal to the primary ones, I think it not at all improbable that such an arrangement may also occur; and, in compound stamens, an analogous phenomenon would be found in the Myrtacez, where the staminal lobes appear in centripetal succession as regards the axis.* Now, the possibility of accessory stamens being internal to the primary ones, may be supposed by some to invalidate the morphological distinction of diplostemonous flowers into two forms, which I have endeavoured to estab- with basifugal development of leaf-lobes. Here, I find a succession of lobes, from a point both upwards and downwards. The upper pair of foliaceous pinne appears in the first instance ; and, from this, as a point of departure, the cir- rhose pinne appear in basifugal succession towards the apex of the leaf, while the other foliaceous pinne appear successively towards its base. Payer has described an analogous succession from a midway-point upwards and downwards, in the serrations of the leaf-lobes in Cannabis sativa (Organogénie, pl. 61, fig. 28; with descr. p. 288). * Organogénie, pp. 460-1, pl. 98. Payer has, somewhat hastily, I think, compared the compound stamens in the Myrtacez to leaves with lobes developed from base to apex, or basifugally. (Op. cit. p. 718.) His figures however, distinctly indicate that here, as in the ordinary forms of compound stamens, there is a mesial stamen or lobe of the compound stamen, from which, as a point of departure, the evolution of the other stamens extends ; and it appears to me improbable that a basifugal succession of lobes should be initiated by the development of a lobe in the middle line at the base of the compound stamen. The phenomenon seems more naturally explained by supposing that the first developed lobe of the myrtaceous compound stamen corresponds to the first developed or terminal lobe in the ordinary form, in which case the evolution in both forms would be basipetal—the only differ- ence between the two being that, while in the Hypericacee, &c., the lobes are developed on the back or outer face of the rachis of the compound stamen (the staminal cushion), in the Myrtacez they appear on its front or inner face. In confirmation of this opinion, I may refer to the highly developed staminal groups in Melaleuca purpurea, where, in each phalanx, the stamens evidently proceed from the inner face of the flattened and elongated rachis. NEW SERIES.—VOIL. XIX. NO. II.—APRIL 1864. DaK 954 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, ce. lish. As to this, | would state that, although the accessory or non-accessory nature of the younger stamens when in- ternal may be very difficult to determine in some cases, where the carpels, from multiplication, or reduction in num- ber, fail to afford any indications, yet, when we consider the relations of the parts in the flowers of Corzaria, Agro- stemma, Cerastium, &c., where the gynecium is isomerous with the staminal whorls, and the carpels alternate with the younger stamens, we can have no doubt as to such flowers being truly diplostemonous, and therefore morpho- logically distinct from those of Geranium, Erica, Mala- chium, &c., where the younger stamens, in being external to the older, occupy a position irreconcilable with the idea of their forming a genuine whorl, and where the carpels alternate with the older stamens. In the last place, we may consider certain anomalous and somewhat perplexing pseudo-diplostemonous forms, occur- ring in the Sapindacee and Polygalacee. I have constructed, in accordance with Payer’s observa- tions, diagrams of the flowers of Polygala, Kelreuteria, and Cardiospermum. In these plants, the outer and younger (accessory) whorl of stamens is incomplete. In Polygala (Pl. ILI. fig. 9), the lower or anterior stamen of the primary, and the upper or posterior stamen of the acces- sory, whorl are absent.* Itis worthy of remark, that in this plant, while the disappearance of the anterior primary sta- men appears to be the direct cause of a solution of continuity of the staminal tube, the disappearance of the posterior accessory stamen is unaccompanied by any such solution, In Kelreuteria (Pl. III. fig. 11), the primary staminal whorl is complete, while the accessory whorl is reduced to three stamens alternate with sepals 1 and 4, 4 and 2, 5 and 3.+ In Pavia (Zésculus), Payer has described a similar arrange- ment,—only, the accessory stamen between sepals 1 and 4 (and sometimes also that between sepals 4 and 2) is absent, and that between sepals 5 and 3 is occasionally resolved into two, then resembling those in Peganum and Monsonia.t Now, it may seem an objection to my doctrine of acces. sory stamens, that, in such plants, it requires us to admit * Organogénie, p. 140. + Ibid, pp. 150-1. { Ibid, p. 130. Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, &c. 250 that some members of a primary whorl may be provided with accessory lobes, while others are not. Regarding this objection, it is sufficient for me to advert to the remarkable condition of the calyx of the hundred-leaved rose, where only two sepals are provided on both sides with lateral lobes: two of the remaining three being destitute of them, and the other having a lobe on one side only. In Cardiospermum (fig. 10), the number and position of the stamens are exactly the same as in Kelreuteria: the stamens superposed to the petals being reduced to three, and alternating with the same sepals as in that plant. It cannot be doubted that, in the two cases, the andrcecia are essentially the same, although it is to be remarked that, while the three carpels are, in Kelreuteria, superposed to sepals 1, 2, and 3, in Cardiospermum they alternate with sepals 1 and 4, 4 and 2, 5 and 3. In Cardiospermum, how- ever, the stamens in each whorl, instead of appearing simul- taneously, as in Kelreulerza, are developed in a remarkable succession, which I have indicated by the numbers accom- panying the stamens in the diagram (fig. 10). In the first place, the two stamens which alternate with sepals 1 and 4, 4 and 2, make their appearance ; next, the two stamens superposed to sepals 1 and 2; then, the three stamens superposed to sepals 3, 4, and 5; and lastly, the stamen alternate with sepals 3 and 5.* Payer has endeavoured to render intelligible the remarkable mode of staminal succes- sion, in this and other analogous cases, by supposing that the irregularity of development, which so frequently mani- fests itself after the appearance of floral parts, is congenital in such cases; and it is hardly possible to doubt that his explanation is correct. The anomalous succession is evi- dently the effect of a disturbing force delaying or arresting, for a time, the appearance of some of the parts, and thus materially affecting the order of staminal evolution. This disturbing force seems to act in quite an arbitrary manner, as it affects different plants in very different manners: thus —to take examples from Payer’s work—in Viola odorata, the stamens appear successively from before backwards; in the Resedacee, from behind forwards; while, in Cardio- * Organogénie, pp. 150-1. 256 Dr Dickson on Piplostemonous Flowers, &c. spermum, the succession may be described, in general terms, as obliquely from side to side. As I have already stated, the two stamens which first appear in Cardiospermum, are those which alternate with sepals 1 and 4,4 and 2. Now, it may be supposed by some to be a formidable, if not fatal, objection to my views, that two of the supposed accessory stamens should appear before the primary ones to which they belong. At first sight, such a mode of appearance seems very improbable; yet, when we consider the arbitrary manner 1n which the disturbing force affects the order of staminal succession, we need scarcely be surprised even at such a result. At any rate, it cannot, @ priori, be said to be more improbable that the appearance of primary staminal lobes should be delayed by a disturbing force until after that of their accessory or lateral lobes, than that the appear- ance of a normally older staminal whorl should be delayed until after the appearance of some of the parts of a normally younger one, which must be admitted on the ordinary supposition of there being two genuine staminal whorls. I do not think, therefore, that the case of Cardio- spermum, although certainly a very strange one, can fairly be urged as invalidating my views. While engaged in the attempt to determine the morpho- logical constitution of double staminal whorls, I was led, incidentally, to examine the position of the carpels in some of the Malvacee. I have already stated, regarding the Buttneriacez, that where, in these plants, there are two staminal whorls, the carpels (as alternating with the younger staminal whorl) are superposed to the petals,—e.g. in Lastopetalum, Biitineria, Melochia, &c. ;—but that where the andreecium is reduced toa single whorl (of simple or compound stamens), the carpels are superposed to the sepals, as in Hermannia and the Dombeyee. The researches of Payer leer no doubt that the andre- cium of the Malvacee consists essentially of a single whorl of five compound stamens, superposed to the petals. With a staminal arrangement so closely analogous to what Baillon Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, cc. 257 has described in Astrapeea, we may expect to find the carpels, when of the same number, superposed to the sepals, as in that plant. Payer, indeed, has stated that the Hermannee, Dombeyee, and Bombacee, in which the carpels are super- posed to the sepals, are distinguished thereby from the Mal- _vacee, Sterculesze, and Lasiopetalee:* but, as regards the Malvacez, I believe it can only have been through an over- sight that he has associated them with the Lasiopetalee, since he describes the carpels in Hzbiscus as being superposed to the sepals.f So far as my observations ex- tend, the rule seems without exception, that in 5-carpellary Malvacee the carpels are superposed to the sepals, just as in the Dombeyee. I have ascertained the occurrence of this arrangement in the following:—(Hibiscee) Hibiscus, Paritium ; (Side) Lagunea. Moreover, in the Malopee, where Payer has shown the gynecium to consist of five carpellary groups, I find that, in Malope, these groups are superposed to the sepals; so that in this plant we have a similar arrangement to that in HMzbiscus—only, the five simple carpels of Hzbiscus are replaced in Malope by five -earpellary groups (or compound carpels, as they may be termed, being developments evidently of an analogous character with the compound stamens of polyadelphous plants). Payer has described the angles of the pentagon formed by the carpellary groups in Malope as superposed to the sepals: but Iam quite satisfied that his statement is erroneous. In flowers at or near maturity, there is, some- times, a slight want of perfect superposition of the carpel- lary groups to the sepals: but this seems to be never to such an extent as to justify Payer’s statement. In the early condition of the ovarian pentagon, the superposition of its angles to the petals is quite unmistakeable. The cavity of the staminal tube is five-sided, the sides alternating with the petals; and the carpellary pentagon, in its origin, is pretty accurately fitted into the bottom of this cavity. { The superposition in many Urenez of the loculi to the * Organogénie, pp. 44-5. t Ibid., p. 33. } I have not had an opportunity of examining the position of the carpellary groups in Kitaibelia ; and there seems to be considerable confusion in Payer’s works, on this point, as these groups are described in the “ Organogénie”’ (p. 84) as alternate with, and in the ‘“ Kléments de Botanique”’ (p. 209) as superposed to, the petals. 208 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, ce. petals is only an apparent exception to the rule I have stated above, as to the position of the carpels in 5-carpellary Malvacee ; for the researches of Payer on the organogeny of Pavonma leave no doubt that in this tribe the five loculi merely represent the fertile members of a circle of ten carpels, to which the ten styles correspond. In Pavonia, the gyncecium, in its origin, consists of ten carpellary mam- mille, Of these, however, only five have loculi developed in connection with them—every second carpel being, so to speak, barren. ‘The ten carpels all equally develope styles ; so that in the advanced condition there are five styles pro- longed upwards from the loculi, and five continuing the lines of the dissepiments.* In Malvaviscus, Payer describes the loculi (corresponding to the fertile carpels) as superposed to the petals. In Urena (U. americana, U. lobata, U. scabriuscula, U. sinuata), I find the same arrangement. In Pavonia, I have ascertained the remarkable fact that the loculi are sometimes superposed to the sepals, and sometimes alternate with them. ‘Thus, in P. typhalea, P. begonicefolia (Gardner), P. odorata, P. wmbellata, and P. zeylanica,.the loculi are superposed to the sepals; while, in at least one species, named in the Edinburgh University Herbarium P. hastata,{ the loculi are certainly alternate with them, as in Malvaviscus and Urena.§ * Organogénie, p. 35, pl. 7. + Legons sur les fam. nat. des plantes, p. 281. { I have expressed myself thus guardedly as to the specific name of this plant, because, by its indefinite stamens, it differs from that to which Baillon refers as P. hastata (Adansonia, II. p. 176), which is described by him as having only five stamens in the adult state. The Edinburgh plant agrees with the description of P. hastata in Decandolle’s ‘‘ Prodromus”’ (vol. i. p. 443), in its lanceolate hastate dentate leaves, axillary unifloral pedicels, and five- leaved involucre. JI cannot say much as to the colour of the petals, except that a deep red or purplish blotch remains at the base of each. The whole plant (especially the stem, the under side of the leaves, the involucre, and the sepals) is downy, being covered with a short stellate pubescence. The plant which Payer has examined as P. hastata appears to perfect a considerable number of stamens, as is seen in his representation of the andreecium “ shortly before blossoming,” where there would seem to be 25 stamens, or there- abouts (Organogénie, pl. 7, fig. 9; with description, p. 38). @ The position of the fertile carpels seems to offer a much more important character by which the genus Pavonia may possibly be disintegrated, than any derived from the awned or awnless condition of the fruit, the relative length of the involucre to the calyx, &c. Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, cc. 259 In constructing those diagrams which illustrate arrange- ments in the Malvacee (figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8), having found great difficulty in giving diagrammatic expression to the staminal groups, Ik have represented the said groups by symbols of infinity, which conveniently enough indicate the indefinite number of the staminal lobes. Hzplanation of Plate ITI. [Figs. 1-138 are from my own designs. Figs. 14 and 15 are taken from Payer’s “ Organogénie,” plate xiii. figs. 28 and 32. The diagrams are con- structed with the utmost conventional uniformity, being merely intended to represent the position of the parts, not their form. In the diagrams, the posterior aspect of the flower is above, the anterior below, and the stamens are numbered in the order of their appearance. | Fig. 1. Arrangement in Geranium, Malachium, &c. Younger (accessory) sta- mens external. Carpels alternate with older (primary) stamens. Fig. 2. Arrangement in Coriaria, Agrostemma, Cerastium, &c. Younger sta- mens internal, probably forming a genuine whorl. Carpels alter- nate with the younger stamens. Fig. 3. Arrangement in Lasiopetalum corylifolium, and probably in Biittneria, Melochia, &c. Outer and older stamens fertile, and superposed to the petals; inner and younger sterile, and alternate with the outer. Carpels, as in fig. 2, alternate with the younger (sterile) stamens. Fig. 4. Isostemonous arrangement in Hermannia. Fertile stamens, as in the last, superposed to the petals. The carpels are superposed to the sepals, apparently replacing the staminodes of the last form. Fig. 5. Arrangement in Hibiscus, Paritium, and Lagunea. Same as last form, except that, instead of five simple stamens, there are five staminal groups (indicated by symbols of infinity). Fig. 6. Arrangement in Malope. Same as last, except that, instead of five simple carpels, there are five carpellary groups. Fig. 7. Arrangement in Pavonia Typhalea, P. begoniefolia, P. odorata, P. um- bellata, and P. zeylanica. Staminal groups as in figs. 5 and 6, super- posed to the petals. Ten carpels; five fertile, superposed to the sepals, and five sterile, superposed to the petals, The sterile carpels are indicated by small circles alternate with the loculi. Fig. 8. Arrangement in Malvaviscus, Urena, Pavonia sp. (hastata?). Same as last form, except that those carpels which are sterile there, are. fertile here, and vice versd. Fig. 9. Arrangement in Polygala, as described in the text. Fig. 10. Arrangement in Cardiospermum, as described in the text. The sepals are numbered in the order of their appearance. Sepals 38 and 5 become connate, and the petal (indicated in outline) which alternates with them aborts. If an oblique line be drawn, as in the diagram, through sepal 4 and the abortive petal, the parts are arranged symmetrically on either side of it. This imaginary line, by torsion of the pedunele, becomes antero-posterior, the abortive petal be- coming posterior (superior). See Payer’s ‘‘ Organogénie,” p. 153. 260 Dr Dickson on Diplostemonous Flowers, kc. Fig. 11. Arrangement in Keelreuteria, as described in the text. As in Cardio- spermum, the petal alternating with sepals 3 and 5 aborts. Fig, 12. Young flower of Agrostemma Flos-Jovis, just before the appearance of the carpels. The younger stamens are internal to the older ones. s, sepal; p, petal; st, older stamem; st’, younger stamen. Fig. 18. Young flower of Cerastium triviale, at same stage as the last. The younger stamens, as in Agrostemma, are internal to, or on a higher level than, the older ones. sa, sp, sl, anterior, posterior, and lateral sepals; p, petal; st, older stamen ; st’, younger stamen ; az, convex extremity of the floral axis; 0, b, lateral bracts, with secondary floral axes fl?, fl”, developed in their axils. Fig. 14. (From Payer). Young flower of Monsonia ovata. s, sepals ; p, petals ; et“, older and inner (primary) stamens, superposed to the sepals ; et?, younger and outer (accessory) stamens, superposed in pairs to the petals ; cp, carpels, superposed, as in Geraniim, to the petals. Fig. 15. (From Payer). Andrcoecium and pistil from a flower of Monsonia ovata, at the time of blossoming. Each of the primary stamens has become ‘connate with the two accessory stamens adjacent to it, one on either side, so that the andrcecium seems now composed of five phalanges superposed to the sepals. The Classification of Animals based on the Principle of Oephalization. No. I. By James D. Dana. Communi- cated by the Author.* (Continued from page 102). 3. Classification of Animals. 1. Subkingdoms.—Of the four subkingdoms, first recognised by Cuvier and since by most zoologists, the Vertebrate, Articulate, and Molluscan, are typical, or of the true animal-type, and the Radiate is degradational, being plant-like in type. Using the terms alphatypic, betatypic, and gammatypic, simply as a number- ing of the grades of types (see p. 96), their relations are as fol- lows :— Alphatypic, . 1. Vertebrates. Betatypic, : ; : . 2. Articulates. Gammatypic, . : . 8. Mollusks. Degradational, . ; : . 4, Radiates. An important dynamical distinction between Mollusks and Articulates has been already suggested by me. 2. Classes of Vertebrates, Articulates, Mollusks, and Radiates. —(1.) The classes of Vertebrates are four (see page 78), * From the American Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. xxxvi., Nov. 1863. On the Classification of Animals. 261 namely, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes,—three of which are typical, of different grades, parallel with the above. (2.) The classes of Articulates are but three, Insecteans, Crus- taceans, and Worms. I have already shown that the three di- visions of Insecteans, namely Insects, Spiders, and Myriapods, are distinguished by characteristics analogous to those which separate the divisions of Crustaceans,—Decapods, Tetradecapods, and Entomostracans. The facts on this point are briefly pre- sented on page 97. Insects and Spiders do not, in fact, differ more widely in external form or in structure than Decapods and Tetradecapods. Insecteans and Birds express in different ways the same type-idea,—that of aerial life, Birds being flying Vertebrates, and Insects flying Articulates; and, in accordance, they are of the same grade of type, both being betatypic. This follows, further, from the fact that there are but two grand divisions of Insec- teans above the degradational division, that of Worms. (3.) Among Mollusks, there are two well-characterised classes, the first including the ordinary Mollusks; the second, the Asci- dioids, or the Brachiopods and Ascidians, which are mostly at- tached species and thus hemiphytoid. Besides these, there are the Bryozoans, which either make a third division under the As- cidioids (Edwards having long since pointed out their relations to the Ascidians); or they constitute a third class of Mollusks, characterised by being polyp-like both in external appearance and in being attached, and hence doubly hemiphytoid. (4.) The Radiates are all degradational in their relations to the animal-type. But under the Radiate-type, the species of the first two classes are within type-limits, while those of the third are degradational, since almost all are attached and very inferior in type of structure, being the most phytoid of phytoid animals. The grades of structure, as marked in the digestive system, are as follows: (1.) Having approximately normal viscera, as in Hchino- derms; (2.) Having, for the digestive system, only a stomach cavity, with vessels, imbedded in the tissues, radiating from it, as in Acalephs ; (3.) Having, for the same, no system of viscera or radiating vessels; but only a central stomach surrounded by a cavity more or less divided at its sides by partitions as in Polyps. The following table presents the relations and the parallelisms of these classes, and of each to the subkingdoms :— Subkingdoms. || Vertebrates. | Articulates. Mollusks. Radiates. a, Vertebrates. || Mammals. f. Articulates. || Birds. Insecteans. |Ordinary. | Echinoderms, y. Mollusks. Reptiles. | Crustaceans. | Ascidioids. | Acalephs. D. Radiates. Fishes. Worms. Bryozoans?! Polyps. NEW SERKIES.—VOL, XIX. NO. Il.—APRIL 1864. DA 6 262 On the Classification of Animals Arranging the divisions according to the relations of the groups to the animal-type, instead of the special type of each class, the table takes the following form :— Subkingdoms. || Vertebrates.| Articulates. Mollusks. Radiates. a. Vertebrates. || Mammals. 8. Articulates. || Birds. Insecteans. — y. Mbollusks.- || Reptiles. | Crustaceans. |} Ordinary. — a. D Fishes, | Worms. Ascidioids. —— Dstas Bryozoans. c. ,, Radiates. —— a -—— Echinoderms. Oe, Sa —— —. Acalephs. Os) Bp —— i = aa ——_— | obyps- The letters c, d, e, stand for different grades of phytoid degra- dational, b, hemiphytoid, and a, degenerative. The blank in- terval between Mollusks and Radiates is filled up by the inferior divisions of the higher subkingdoms. We may now consider the subdivisions under some of the classes; and first, those of Vertebrates. 3. Higher subdivisions of the class of Mammals.—The higher subdivisions of the class of Mammals are four in number: Man, Megasthenes, Microsthenes, and Odtocoids, as explained in the preceding volume of the American Journal, Man is shown to stand apart from the Megasthenes on precisely the same characteristic that separates the two highest orders under the classes severally of Insecteans and Crustaceans ; for, in passing from Man to the brute Mammals, there is a transfer of the forelimbs from the cephalic to the locomotive series. Moreover, a study of the Vertebrate skeleton has shown that the forelimbs in the Vertebrate type, as well explained by Pro- fessor Owen, are cephalic appendages, beng normally appendages to the posterior or occipital division of the head. In the Fish, these forelimbs (the pectoral fins) have at any rate an actual cephalic position (back of which position they are thrown, by dis- placement, in other Vertebrates). Now, in Man, they are not only cephalic in normal structural relations, but cephalic also in use. The transfer of these cephalic organs to the locomotive series, by which the brute structure is made, is a manifest degra- dation of the type. Man is thus the only Vertebrate in which the Vertebrate-type is expressed in its perfection, and therefore occupies alone the sublime summit of the system of life. Three of the orders of Mammals, namely, Man, Megasthenes, and Microsthenes, are typical of different grades, and one, Odto- colds, 1s semideoradational. The Ostocoids may be divided into three groups—a megas- based on the Principle of Cephalization. 263 thenic, a microsthenic, and a degradational ; the first to include the genera Phalangista, Dasyurus, Macropus, Diprotodon, &c.; the second, Perameles, Didelphys, Phascolomys, Echidna, &c., or Marsupial Insectivores, Rodents, and Edentates ; the third, Or- nithorhynchus, The following table presents to view the subdivisions of Mam- mals and its orders. Under Odtocoids, the relations of the two higher groups are indicated by the above adjectives, without giv- ing them special names :— Mammals. | Megasthenes. Microsthenes, Odtocoids. a. Man. Quadrumanes.| Chiropters. B. Megasthenes. || Carnivores. Insectivores. | Megasthenic. y- Microsthenes. || Herbivores. | Rodents. Microsthenie. D. Odtocoids. Mutilates. Edentates. Ornithorhynchs. 4. Higher subdivisions of the classes of Birds, Reptiles, and ishes,—(1.) In the class of Birds, there are three grand divi- sions; the first two, as recognised by Bonaparte, are the Altrices (Rapacious birds, Perchers, &c., and other birds that feed their young until they can fly), and the Precoces (or the Gallinz, An- seres, Ostriches, &c., which feed themselves as soon as hatched), The third includes the Reptilian Birds or Erpetoids (p. 77). The terms Pterosthenics and Podosthenics apply equally well with Altrices and Preecoces to the two higher divisions of Birds, as explained on page 83, and have an advantage in their direct dynamical signification. The type of ordinary Birds (or Pterosthenics and Podosthenics) is stated on page 95 to be essentially limitate, like that of In- sects, while the type of Erpetoids is multiplicate, like that of Myriapods or of ordinary Reptiles; so that the relation of Erpetoids to the higher division of Birds is in an important re- spect analogous to that of Myriapods to the higher division of Insecteans, (2.) In the classification of Reptiles there are three prominent types of structure recognised by Erpetologists; (1.) That of the Che- lonians ; (2.) That of the Lacertoids (including Saurians, Lizards, Snakes); and (38.) The degradational or hemitypic one of Am- phibians. It is now well known that Snakes and Lizards are alike in type of structure, the two groups graduating almost in- sensibly into one another, some species ranked as Lizards being footless like the Snakes. The Snakes constitute the degrada- tional group under the Lacertoids. ‘The Amphibians, constitut- ing the third order, are on the same level with the Hrpetoid Birds and the Osotocoid Mammals, as presented in the following table. 264 On the Classification of Animals The three orders of Reptiles—Chelonians, Lacertoids, and Amphibians—make a parallel series with the three lower classes of Vertebrates ; the Chelonians representing the Birds, to which they approximate in some points, besides being betatypic like them; the Amphibians representing the Fishes, with a still closer approximation between the two; while the Lacertoids are the typical Reptiles. The Chelonians might be viewed as hemi- typic Reptiles ; not hypotypic like the Amphibians, but hypertypic, like the Selachians and Ganoids among Fishes, (3.) Fishes are all degradational species in their relations to the animal-type. The two higher groups, or those of Selachians and Ganoids, as already explained (p. 96), are hypertypic. The third, including Teliosts, is typical if viewed with reference to the Fish-type. Below these, the Dermopters or Myzonts (in- cluding Amphioxus, Myxine, &c.), constitute an inferior hypotypic or degradational group,—that is degradational in its relations to typical Fishes (p. 94). Thus typical Fishes are gammatypic in their relations to other Vertebrates, while the alphatypic and betatypic groups are hypertypic orders. The following table exhibits the relations of the orders in the classes of Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes ; and, for comparison, those of Mammals are added :— Mammals. | Birds. |) Saepeiless. jpaeeerswes: Alphatypie, Man. Salachians. Betatypic, Megasthenes. hee at aes Chelonians. | Ganoids. Gammatypic, Microsthenes. Pascoe Lacertoids. | Teliosts. peel } Ostocoids, Erpetoids. | Amphibians.| Dermopters. We pass now to Articulates. 5. Subdivisions of the classes Insecteans, Crustaceans, and Worms into Orders.—(1.) The higher subdivisions in each of the classes, Insecteans and Crustaceans, are three in number, none existing above the betatypic grade, which is that of Articulates among the subkingdoms, and of Insecteans among Articulates. (2.) Worms are of four types of structure. First, Annelids, or typical Worms, including the Branchiates, Abranchiates, and Nematoids—the last the degradational group, and showing this in the obsolete body-articulations and some internal characters.— Second, Bdelloids or Molluscoid Worms, including the Hirudines or Leeches, Planarians and Trematodes; characterised by obso- lescent or obsolete body-articulations, and by often wanting the nervous ganglia, excepting the anterior; by usually a Gastero- pod-like breadth and aspect, an amplificate feature; by being in based on the Principle of Cephalization. 265 general urosthenic, even the highest having a caudal disk for attachment; and in an up-and-down movement of the body in locomotion, Mollusk-like, stead of the worm-like lateral move- ment of the Annelids. The fact of this mode of movement has been recently made known to the writer by Dr Wm. C, Minor, as a distinctive feature of the Bdelloids. Quatrefages remarks that the Planarians and Trematodes may well be regarded degraded forms of the Hirudines, and the three tribes are arranged in one group by Burmeister.—Third, Gephyreans (of de Quatrefages), or Holothurioid (Radiate-like) Worms, including the genera, Eechiurus, Sipuncula, &c.*— Fourth, Cestideans, or Protozoic Worms, including the Cestoids, in which there is no normal digestive system, and the segments are independently self- nutrient. The orders of these classes of Articulates are the following :— | Insecteans. Crustaceans. | Worms. Alphatypie, Betatypic, nsects. Decapods. Annelids. Gammatypic, | Spiders. Tetradecapods. Bdelloids. a. Degradational, | Myriapods. | Entomostracans. | Gephyreans. b. Be | Cestideans. 6. Subdivisions of the Orders of Insecteans and Crustaceans into Tribes—(1.) The orders of Insecteans have each three divi- sions, excepting that of Myriapods in which but two have been recognised. The three of Insects are indicated on pages 83, 98. The fact that Insects are, in type-idea, flying Articulates, gives special importance to the wings in classification. The jirst order includes the Prosthenics, in which the anterior wings are flying wings, as the Hymenopters, Dipters, Neuropters, Lepidop- ters, and Homopters, The second consists of the Metasthenics or Filytropters, in which the anterior wings are not used in flying, or but little so, as the Coleopters, Strepsipters, Orthopters, and Hemipters. The Hemipters and Homopters, united in one tribe by most entomologists, are hence profoundly distinct. The third tribe, or Apters, embraces the Lepismids and Podurellids; the remaining Apterous insects being distributed among the other = The Holothurioid characteristics are well exhibited by de Quatrefages in Part ii. p. 248 and beyond, of “ Recherches Anatomiques et Zoologiques faites pendant un voyage sur les Cotes de la Sicile,” &c., in 3 vols. or parts, the second by de Quatrefages. Paris. + The Acanthocephali, according to van Beneden and Blanchard, are Nema- toids (with which they agree in form and general structure), although with- out a digestive system. Blanchard states that there is reason for believing that the digestive system becomes atrophied with the growth of the animal, and mentions that cases of like atrophy occur even in species of Gordius and Nemertes. 266 On the Classification of Animals groups, as suggested by different entomologists. The Lepismz show their degradational character in their larval forms and in other approximations to the Myriapods, and the Podurellids appear to be still inferior in having the abdomen elliptic in some segments. (2.) The Orders of Spiders suggested by the principles of cepha- lization are in precise parallelism with those of the Decapod and Tetradecapod Crustaceans. They are, first, Araneoids, including all the Pulmonates, except the Pedipalps; second, Scorpionoids, or the Pedipalps from among the Pulmonates, and the Chelifer group from among the Trachearians ; third, Acaroids. The Araneoids or Brachyural Spiders; the Scorpionoids, Macrural ; while the Acaroids are degradational. . The last show their degradational character in having no division between the abdomen and cephalothorax; so that, while Insects have the body in three parts, head, thorax, and abdomen, and ordinary Spiders in two, cephalothorax and abdomen, the Acaroids have it undivided (page 86). Thus, one of the most prominent charac- teristics marking the descent from Insects to Spiders becomes the characteristic of a further descent among Spiders themselves— illustrating a common principle with regard to such subdivisions. The propriety of making the Acaroids a distinct group appears therefore to be well sustained. The usual subdivision of Spiders into Pulmonates and Trache- arlans depends on internal characters, which is not the case with any other subdivisions in the table beyond. Moreover, these names, though seeming to mean much, are not based on any func- tional difference between the groups. Spiders have many relations to Crustaceans; and it is natural that the subdivisions in both should depend on the same methods of cephalization, the amplifi- cative and analytic (p. 98). (3.) The two orders of Myriapods are examples, one of case a, the other of case b, under multiplicative decephalization (p. 85). The close relations between Isopods and the higher Myriapods, suggest that they are of like grade under their respective types, that is, betatypic. (4.) a. Under Decapod Crustaceans, the subdivisions are three, as already remarked upon by the author.* The Anomurans are only degradational Brachyurans, and do not represent an independent type of structure. The Schizopods, similarly, are degradational Macrurans, with which they should be united. The third type is that of the Gastrurans, which are peculiar among Decapods, in having the viscera extending into the abdomen, one of the marked degradational features of the type. * See also Amer. Jour. of Science and Art, vol. xxy. [2], pp. 3387, 338. based on the Principle of Cephalization. 267 They are the Stomapods of Latreille ; but this author, in his last edition, made the group, in connection with the Schizopods, co- ordinate with that of Decapods. Being co-ordinate with Brachy- urans and Macrurans, the change of name is necessary. 6. The Tetradecapods include two divisions precisely parallel with the first two of the Decapods, the first literally brachyural, the second macrural. (See p. 97 of this volume.) The Aniso- pods of the writer, are degradational Isopods, just as the Ano- murans are degradational Brachyurans. The Lemodipods (Ca- prellids, &c.) are only degradational Amphipods, the structure of the two being essentially the same in type. Hence, neither the Lemodipods nor the Anisopods are an independent type corre- sponding to a third division. The third subdivision probably is made up of Trilobites, although these are generally regarded as Entomostracans. One of the most prominent marks distinguishing Entomostracans from Tetradecapods is the absence of a series of abdominal appendages. It is highly improbable that the large abdominal (or caudal) plate of an Asaphus, or the many-jointed abdomen of a Paradoxides, Calymene, &c., should have been without foliaceous appendages below ; and if these appendages were present, the species were essentially Tetradecapods, although degradational in the excessive number of body-segments. c. Entomostracans (or Colopods, as they are more appropriately styled) embrace four orders. First, Carcinoids (as named by Latreille) consisting of the Cyclops group (Copepods of Edwards), whose species have a strong Macrural or shrimp-like habit; to which should be added the Caligoids, (Cormostomes of the writer, Siphonostomes of others), since they are essentially identical in type of structure with the Cyclopoids, as may be seen on compar- ing Sapphirina of the latter with Caligus.—Second, Ostracoids (or the Daphnia, Cypris, and Limnadia groups), which have, besides a bivalve carapax more or less complete, a much more elliptic abdomen than the Carcinoids, it being short, incurved, and with- out a lamellar terminal joint or terminal appendages.—Third, Limuloids, which have the abdomen still more elliptic, it being reduced to a mere spine, or nearly obsolete, and which have the mouth-organs all perfect feet and the only locomotive organs, (The joint across the carapax of the Limulus corresponds in position to a suture or imperfect articulation in the carapax of the Caligi, &c.)—Fourth, the Rotifers, a low Protozoic grade of degradation, in which all members are wanting, and locomotion is performed by cilia. The Phyllopods are distributed between the first two divisions. The Rotifers are sometimes arranged under Worms. If they are degradational species of a limitate type, they are Crustaceans ; 268 On the Classification of Animals and if of a multiplicate, they are Worms. The very small num- ber of segments present, when any are distinct, the character of the dentate mandibles (for mandibles are not found in the inferior subdivisions of Worms), and the resemblance in the form of some species to Daphniz and other Entomostracans, sustain the view that they are Crustacean. The Cirripeds appear to be only HG net amplificate Ostra- coids. (See pages 84, 85.) The subdivisions of the orders of Insecteans and Crustaceans are then the following :— Insects. Spiders. Myriapods.; Decapods. | Tetradecaps.| Entomostr. Us ; Sa : IE: eine Araneoids. |Chilopods. |Brachyurans.|Isopods. Carcinoids. Li Tenia satens) Scorpionoids.| Diplopods. |Macrurans. |Amphipods. |Ostracoids. a. D. Apters. Acaroids. | 2 Gastrurans. |Trilobites.? |Limuloids. 6. D. — Rotifers. a 7. Subdivisions of the orders of the class of Worms.—On the true method of grouping the typical (Branchiate and Abranchiate) Annelids, I here make no suggestions. The Cystics are there included with the Cestoids. If any of the sample Cystics are really adults, they may possibly make a second subdivision of the Cestideans, 8. Subdivisions of the classes of Mollusks——The ordinary Mol- lusks include three orders, as usually given: (1.) Cephalopods, (2.) Cephalates, and (3.) Acephals ; of which the first two corre- spond to different grades of typical Mollusks, and the last is de- gradational in its relations to the type, the species being imperfect in the senses and means of locomotion. The Ascidioid Mollusks comprise (1.) Brachiopods, and (2.) Ascidians, with perhaps the Bryozoans as the third order. If the last, however, be made a third class, as already suggested (though with hesitation), there is no third order, unless the in- ferior of the compound Ascidians, having water-apertures to a group of individuals instead of to each one, and the mouth-opening of each usually radiated (the number of rays siz), be regarded as the third. This would make the orders, (1) Brachiopods ; (2) Ascidians ; (3) Incrustates ; the first two typical, the last degra- dational and strikingly hemiphytoid. 4, Conclusions. The preceding review of zoological classification appears to sustain the following general conclusions. 1. Number and typical relations of the subdimsions of groups. I. The number of subkingdoms, classes, orders, and tribes, in based on the Principle of Cephalization. 269 the system of animal life is either four or three, that is, the divi- sion in each case is either guaternate or ternate. II. The lowest of the subdivisions in each group is a degrada- tional or semidegradational subdivision, or hypotypic. III. The quaternate division is confined to siz cases (excepting two or three among inferior types in which there are two degra- dational subdivisions): 1, the number of subkingdoms ; 2, the number of classes under Vertebrates, the highest of the subking- doms; 38, 4, the number of orders under Mammals and Fishes, the highest and lowest classes of Vertebrates ; 5, 6, the numbers of tribes under two of the orders of Mammals. IV. In three only of the six cases of guaternate division are the three higher subdivisions all true typical, namely: 1, in the divi- sion of the animal kingdom into subkingdoms; 2, of the Verte- brates into classes; 3, of Mammals into orders. In the last we reach Man. As Man alone is archetypic in the class of Mammals (p. 96), so the Mammal-type is archetypic among Vertebrates, and the Vertebrate-type among the subkingdoms. 6. Below this archetypic level, in the orders of Mammals, the number of true typical subdivisions is but two—and these are the betatypic and gammatypic ; for the first or alphatypic subdivision in both Megasthenes and Microsthenes, as explained on page 96, is hypertypic, and not true typical. ce. Again, of the four orders of Fishes only one is typical, the two highest being hypertypic (p. 96). V. In the rest of the animal kingdom, the number of true typical groups, in the classes, orders, and tribes that have been reviewed, is either two, the betatypic and gammatypic, or one, the gammatypic alone. 2. Lines of gradation.—Lines of gradation between groups are lines of convergence or approximation through intermediate species. Before mentioning under this head the deductions from the pre- ceding classification (or VIII. and IX. beyond), two general prin- ciples (VI. and VII.), having an important bearing upon them, are here introduced. VI, The approximations between two groups usually take place, as has been frequently observed, through their lower limits, or most inferior species, that is, between the degradational subdi- vision of the inferior as well as of the superior group.—For example, plants and animals approximate only in their simplest species, the Protozoans and Protophytes ; Birds and Quadrupeds most nearly in the Ornithorhynchus or Duckbill—which, at the same time that it is the lowest of Mammals, is related to a very inferior type of Birds, the Ducks; Quadrumanes and inferior Mammals through the Lemurs of the former and the Bats and NEW SERIES.—VOL, XIX. NO. 11.— APRIL 1864. 2M 270 On the Classification of Animals Insectivores of the Microsthenes, and not through the higher Carnivores or even any of the Megasthenes. The classes of Reptiles and Fishes may appear to be an excep- tion. But the Perennibranchs (or the species with permanent gills) among Amphibians, if referred to the type of Fishes, and especiaily to the Ganoid type, weuld rank low, as is obvious from their exsert and loosely-hung gills without gill-covers, the absence of scales, and the general inferiority in- all structural arrange- ments. The Ganocephs, known only as fossils, and generally regarded as Perennibranch Amphibians, have, it is true, a higher grade of organisation, both as regards gills and scales, being allied in these respects to the highest of Ganoids. And this fact, in view of the above canon, sustains the opinion of Agassiz, that the Ganocephs (or Archegosaurs) are actually Ganoids—having a Reptilian feature in the partial elongation of the limbs, but in little that is fundamental in the structure beyond what belongs essentially to the Ganoid-type. VII. The lines of gradation between classes, orders, and tribes, are only approximating, not connecting, lines, there being often wide blanks of the most fundamental character. The Ornitho- rhynchus, although Duck-like in some points, leaves still a very wide unfilled gap between the Mammal and Bird, and the Mar- supials a still wider. The species are fundamentally Mammalian, and Bird-hke only in points of secondary importance. In a similar manner, there are long blanks between the Odtocoids and higher Mammals; between Myriapods and either Insects or Spiders; between Reptiles and Mammals. The intermediate groups belong decidedly to one or the other of the two approxi- mating groups, and are never strictly intermediate. VIII. Under any class, order, or tribe, the lines of gradation run in most cases between the degradational subdivision and severally the gammatypic and betatypic subdivisions, and far less clearly, or not at all, between the gammatypic and betatypic themselves ; that is, between D and y, and D and £, rather than Sand y. For example, in the class of Mammals, the lines run between Odtocoids and either Megasthenes or Microsthenes, and not distinctly between Megasthenes and Microsthenes ; in Insec- teans, between Myriapods and either Insects or Spiders, and not distinctly between Insects and Spiders; In Crustaceans, between Entomostracans and either Decapods or Tetradecapods, and not distinctly between Decapods and Tetradecapods, &c. There are exceptions to the canon; and still it is a general truth. IX. Under any class or order, the line of gradation between the degradational and the betatypic subdivision (or D and §) is often more distinct than that between the degradational and based on the Principle of Cephalization. 271 gammatypic (or D and y), although the gammatypic 1s nearer in grade to the degradational.—Thus, the line between Myriapods and Insects is more distinct than that between Myriapods and Spiders ; or that between Entomostracans and Decapods, than that between Entomostracans and Tetradecapods. There is an exception in the class of Mammals: the Odtocoids seem to graduate towards both Microsthenes and Megasthenes with nearly equal distinctness. 3. Co-ordinate grades and distinctions in Classification. X. The co-ordinate value of subdivisions in the system of classi- fication is brought out to view in the parallel columns of the pre- ceding tables, and evidence is thence afforded as to what groups are rightly designated classes, orders, &c. a. We thus learn that the subdivisions of the class of Mammals —Man, Megasthenes, Microsthenes—are properly orders, if we so call the subdivisions Decapods and Tetradecapods under Crusta- ceans, or Insects and Spiders under Insecteans. b. Again, we have a solution of the question whether in each of the classes, Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles, the hemitypic divi- sion, as so-called on page 76, is a subclass co-ordinate with the typical division of the same, or whether it is an order co-ordinate with the three higher subdivisions of the class. The question appears to be decided (contrary to former views of the writer), that it is correctly made an order, These hemitypic divisions actually correspond severally to the degradational division in other columns of the different tables; and, therefore, if in the case of other classes as those of Crustaceans, Insecteans, &c., they are orders, so are they in the three classes of Vertebrates mentioned. They have also a relation to the hemitypic divisions among Fishes, which are the first and second orders of the class. XI. In an inferior or degradational group, the distinctions of the subdivisions included are generally much more strongly and obviously exhibited in the structure than among typical groups. Thus, the orders of Fishes are based on characters that have nearly a class-value among the higher Vertebrates. In the same manner, Amphibians, or hemitypic Reptiles, differ from true Rep- tiles more obviously than Odtocoids, or hemitypic Mammals, differ from other Mammals. So, the distinctions among the groups of Crustaceans are very wide compared with those among Insects; and those among degradational Crustaceans far wider than those among the typical subdivisions. The relative force of the life-systems is, in all probability, as great between Odtocoids and typical Mammals as between Amphibians and typical Reptiles, although so -unequally expressed in the structure of the high or concentrated groups and the low or lax groups of species. Over- 272 On the Classification of Animals looking this principle has often led authors to allow too great importance to the structural differences among inferior or degra- dational groups. : XII. Under any class, order, tribe, the typical groups are often represented more or less clearly among the subdivisions of the degradational. Hence characteristics which separate the typical groups frequently separate only subordinate divisions under an inferior or degradational group. Examples occur in the class of Fishes under Vertebrates, in whose subdivisions the other classes of Vertebrates are partly represented ; in the order of Odtocoids under Mammals, which has its megasthenic and microsthenic subdivisions ; under Worms, &c. 4, Distinction between Animals and Plants. . XIII. This subject well illustrates a fundamental distinction between animals and plants. a. An animal, as has been stated on page 94, has fore-and-aft, or antero-posterior, polarity ; that is, it has a fore-extremity and a hind-extremity which have that degree of oppositeness that char- acterizes polarity. b. With this fore-and-aft polarity there is also dorso-ventral polarity. c. The dorso-ventral and antero-posterior axes are at right angles to one another. In Invertebrates and a large part of Vertebrates the antero-posterior axis is horizontal and the dorso- ventral vertical ; and only in Man, the prince of Mammals, is the former vertical and the latter horizontal. d. An animal, again, has not only oppositeness between the fore-extremity and hind-extremity, but also a head, the seat of the senses and mouth, situated at the fore-extremity and con- stituting this extremity. e. In addition, the typical animal is forward moving. But in animals of the inferior type of Radiates, while there is an anterior and a posterior side, and also, in most species, forward motion, the mouth-aperture—which indicates the primary centre in an animal (p. 82)—is not placed at one extremity, but is more or less nearly central; and almost precisely central in the sym- metrical (and therefore inferior) Radiates. The mouth-extremity and the opposite are at the poles of the dorso-ventral axis, and not at those of the antero-posterior; that is, they are at the extremity of the axis which in the inferior animals is normally vertical. This is true even in a Holothuria, the mouth of which is not at the anterior extremity, but is central, or nearly so, as in an Echinus. A Limulus has been referred to on page 90 as show- ing an approximation, under the true animal type, to this same central position of the mouth. based on the Principle of Cephalization. 273 We pass now to Plants. The plant, in contrast with the fore- and-aft animal, is an up-and-down structure, having up-and-down polarity. The axis is vertical like the dorso-ventral in the lower animals, to which it is strictly analogous, as is shown from a comparison with Radiates,—Radiates and Plants being alike in type of structure. The primary centre of force is central, in the same sense, in the regular flower and the symmetrical Radiate. Thus, the structures under the animal-type and plant-type are based on two distinct axial directions, one at right angles to the other: in the animal-type the antero-posterior axis being the dominant one, while the two co-exist; and in the plant-type the axis at right angles to this being the only one. In the above way (as well as in its non-percipient nature), the plant exhibits complete decephalization—a condition to which the Radiate only approximates, as it has generally, if not always, an anterior and posterior side, besides other animal characteristics. Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. By Grorce Lawson, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Chemistry and Natural History in Dalhousie College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Continued from the January Number.) ScoLOPENDRIUM. S. vulgare, Smith.—F ronds (in tufts) strap-shaped, with a cordate base, undivided, margin entire, stipe scaly. Scolopendriwm vulgare, J. E. Smith, Bab., J. Sm., Moore, &c. S. offictnarwm, Swartz, Schkr., Gray Man., p. 593; Torr. Fl. N.Y. ii. p. 490. S. Phyllitis, Roth. S.. office- male, DC. S. Lingua, Cavanilles. Aspleniwm Scolopendriwm, Linn, Sp. Plantarum, &c. A. elongatum, Salish. Blechnum linguifoliwm, Stokes. Phyllitis Scolopendriwum, Newman.—Owen Sound, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, on soft springy ground, amongst large stoues, growing in tufts, abundant, 1861, Robert Bell, junior,C.EK. This interesting ad- dition to our list of Canadian ferns has been collected in the same place by the Rev. Prof. William Hincks, F.L.S. Mr Bell’s specimens agree, in every respect, with the typical European form of the species, which is ex- ceedingly variable. Only one station was previously known for this fern in all North America, viz., limestone rocks along Chittenango Creek, near the Falls, respecting which Professor Torrey observed :—‘‘ This fern is undoubtedly indigenous in the locality here given, which is the only place where it has hitherto been found in North America.” It was first detected by Pursh, who found it in shady woods, among loose rocks in the western parts of New York, near Onondago, on the plantations of J. Geddis, Esq. This species (he said) I have seen in no other place but that here mentioned, neither have I had any information of its having 274 Synopsis of Canadian Ferns and Filicoid Plants. been found in any other part of North America. (Pursh.) Nuttall states that he found it in the western part of the state, without giving the locality ; but according to Dr Pickering, the specimens of Mr Nuttall, in the herbarium of the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia, are marked, “‘ Near Canandaigua, at Geddis’s farm, in a shady wood, with Taxus canadensis,’ Torrey Fl. N. Y. ii. p, 490. This fern occurs throughout Europe, and also in Northern Asia. Mr Moore considers the Mexican S. Zindeni as a mere variety of this species. In Europe there are many remarkable varieties, of which Mr Moore has figured and de- scribed more than fifty that occur in Britain. The great beauty and remarkable character of many of these render them very suitable for cultivation. None of the abnormal forms have as yet been found in America, probably merely because they have not been looked for. CAMPTOSORUS. C. rhizophyllus, Presl.—Frond lanceolate, broad and hastate, or cordate at base, attenuated towards the tip, which strikes roof and gives rise to a new plant; hence this fern is called the Walking Leaf ; fronds evergreen. Camptosorus rhizophyllus, Link, Presl, A. Gray, Eaton, Hooker.