296 
of these organs, and the perpetuation of the variety necessarily 
becomes dependent on cuttings, which frequently fail to grow into 
plants inheriting the peculiarity of the parent stock. 
A chemical analysis of the ashes of albino plants would per- 
haps throw some light on the subject, by showing if the difference in 
color can be accounted for by a difference in the elements absorbed 
by the plants ; but,even could this be shown, the question would still 
remain: “Why should an individual plant refuse, apparently to its 
own detriment, to absorb something that other plants of the same 
species find necessary ?” ARTHUR HOLtick. 
Read at the Meeting of the Torrey Bot. Club, Mch. r1th, 1879. 
We find from Nature, Nov. 28, 1878, that a paper was read on 
this subject by Prof. Church, before the London Chemical Society, 
in November last. The author had made numerous analyses of 
white and green leaves of the same age from the same plant, in order 
to discover whether any difference in their composition could be 
detected. The leaves were gathered from the maple, holly, ivy, and 
three exotic plants. White leaves contain more water than corres- 
ponding green leaves, whilst the ash of white leaves contains more 
potash and phosphoric acid, but less lime, especially less oxalate 
and carbonate of calcium. Nearly sixty per cent. of nitrogen in the 
white leaves is non-albumenoid, while the green leaves contain thirty 
per cent. of nitrogen in that state. The authdéralso analyzed a veg- | 
etable parasite, the dodder, and its host, the red clover; he found 
that the white leaves resemble in composition the parasite, while the - 
host represents the green leaves. The white leaf is therefore, in a 
sense, a parasite on the green leaf, and owes its existence to its con- 
nection with the normal portion of the plant. W. RG, 
§ 299. Botanical Notes.—Dr. L. Rabenhorst has recently retired 
from the editorship of the CryproGAmic JouRNAL, Hedwigia, and is 
succeeded by the well known Mycologist, Dr. George Winter.—A 
new quarterly journal devoted to the interests of students of fungi 
has recently made’its appearance. It is called the Revue M 'ycologique, 
and is edited by M. C. Roumequere, of Toulouse. ‘The first num- 
ber, which is very interesting, contains an article by the editor on 
the lichen theory of Schwendener which he condemns ; another arti- — 
cle treats of the culture of various species of Agarics in Japan; and 
these are succeeded by other articles both original and selected, and 
notices of new books.—From the beginning of the present year, 
Prof. A. de Bary assumes the sole editorship of the Botanische Zeitung. 
—To arecent number of the Science Wews Mr. John Robinson com- 
municates an article entitled ‘“ The Botrychia not Ferns,” in which 
he states that “It should be more generally known by collectors that 
Opioglossum and Botrychium are not true ferns, and that they should 
be looked upon rather as fern-allies, for they differ from the Filices 
more than the Zguisefa, and as much as most Lycofodia.” As rea- 
sons for his conclusions, he cites the differences in the mode of vern- 
ation, the difference in the growth of the prothallus, which, in the 
Ophioglossacea, takes place under ground—the prothallus being very 
small, destitute of chlorophyll, and having but few root-hairs, while 
in the true ferns the case is exactly the reverse. There is a greater 
