

features. It is not necessary to remind the readers of the 

 Botanical Register that the old doctrine of deriving the 

 placenta, or seed-receptacle, of a plant, exclusively from the 

 carpellary leaves is no longer tenable. The curious paper by 

 Schykoffsky published in our last volume, and the occasional 

 allusions to Schleiden's views of this important question have 

 shewn very clearly that the placenta has, sometimes at least, 

 it not very often, or even always, an independent origin. In 

 this case each placenta rises up from the bottom of the cell 

 in which it stands, and is supported upon a short stalk, not 

 touching the sides of the ovary at any point ; when this is 

 compared with what is found in Verticordia, and its allies, we 

 must admit that even in Myrtaceous plants, manv of which 

 appear to conform best to the old theory, the placenta has 

 really an independent formation. 



But a far more curious fact presents itself upon a closer 



examinat.on of the ovary. The style itself is a direct pro- 

 longatton of the placenta, and does not even toueh the carpels, 

 but u protruded through a hole in the vertex of the ovary. 



.Vf; I' T th ! S ' and there is no doubt abo «t the fact. So 

 Wwf,t 7 V S ! V f rS - et an0ther branch of theory, which 

 convX; Vl e St ? lels A n eXtension and attenuation, and 

 52*2 ° f * he 3P ^ ° f "T Car P elIar y leaf i that it is often 

 bv the al r K t ° ertaln ; / ha i Jt is not a,wa )- s s ° » Proved 

 surorL L ft °t At *? im P ortant &* we feel no 



an 7 2LTL *5f C ° nt Jf y ' We have lon S marched for such 

 readers "will r f T^t ex P ectati «« of finding it. If our 



Reafster for i «In ,K ab - %*■ the Volume of *» Botanical 

 verted to A W "f 7 "'V 66 tWs sub Jeet distinctly ad- 

 represented ^L Pk r 6 ,!* descri »ed, and at tab. 8. fig. S. 

 S^r, ° f tbe f nus In-patiens, in which it is 



entire differ^ n S? ?f *"* ge " US is made U P of two 

 hmvefand In. l Pa S .' T1Z -/ n , tension of the carpellary 



cases, in which the Z2 ? * Good emacea3, as other 

 placentarv oarts of »? 2? "* ^tween the carpellary and 



L we 7\ g l7Lfe addend T^ ** distin <% seen. 7 To 



gnt nave added Geraniaceae, in which the carpel- 













