blue, or green, &c 



of which the French 



flower-painter Redoute successfully availed himself in his 

 Botanical drawings. 



There is, perhaps, no subject of more interest than the 

 cause of colouring in plants ; it is one upon which till lately 

 no very definite notions were possessed; but it has at length 



acted the attention of the skilful vegetable-chemists of 



Ge 



and 



coming more and more 



— ~ — *~&*' 



phenomena relating to 



gible 



daily be 



It appears, that the 



opinion long since expressed by Lamarck, that when 

 and fruits acquire their autumnal colouring, they 



morbid condition 



ogous 



d that flowers are. from their birth 



that of 



decay 



very 



the truth. Taking the green colour so prevalent, and "so fre 

 quently exclusive, in vegetation, as the fundamental colour of 

 plants, it appears that deviations from it are chiefly caused 

 by their chromule being combined with oxygen in different 



<u 



Whe 



green, they absorb oxygen 

 night, and part with it by day; but just before they change 

 their colour, they cease to part with this gas, continuing, 

 however, to absorb it at night. Hence it has been inferred 



by Mr. M 



that 



th< 



ye 



ygenation takes place, which 



first instance, discharges the blue, and leaves the 



and next prod 



red 



for in all cases red is 



preceded by yellow in leaves which change their hue. It 

 is supposed that other colours may be caused by alkaline 

 matter, or peculiar vegetable acids, being present ; and that 



m what are called white flowers, the chromule is only in an 

 mperfect cond" * 



as apparent evid 



of which, De 



Candolle points out, 1, the analogy of the colour with that 



of blanched pla 



flowers in northern than in equatorial 



the much greater proportion of white 



and 3dly 



the well-known fact, that many flowers which are at first 

 white become coloured afterwards. For further informa- 

 tion upon this highly curious subject we refer the reader to 

 De Candolle's valuable Physiologie Vegetale. 



The Wh 



the habit of an Almond 

 like the other v 



Peach is a hardy 



amen 



It flowers in May, and i; 

 Its fruit has little merit 



shrub, with 

 is increased 



J. L. 







