CASPAET ON THE MOEPHOLOGT OF THE A.BIETINEJ3. 23 



lobed, irregiilarly crenate, or even quite entire. Richard, too, thus 

 describes the organs of certain Conifers, e.g. Finus Cedrus* " margin 

 unequally and irregularly cut into 2-5 segments, which are irregularly 

 erose toothed or repand ;" and Pinus bahamea,f " limb longer on one 

 side and slightly divided at the margin into two or three somewhat 

 imequal lobes." These descriptions and figures throw stiU more 

 doubt on the existence of Baillon's " two carpels." It was, however, 

 in Finus Larix, in which I fully studied the evolution of the cone- 

 scales, that I acquired a complete conviction of Baillon's error. In this 

 plant, what BaiUon calls the ovule, appears first in the form of a 

 convex, almost hemisphserical boss, around which, some weeks later, 

 the integument is produced, not imder the form of two distinct horse- 

 shoes, but of a complete ring, uniform in height aU round. I tried 

 in vain to find any indication of a double origin. It is impossible to 

 consider the floral organ of Finus Larix as anything else than a nucleus 

 surrounded by an integument, that is, an ovule ; and as it is incre- 

 dible that the integument of Finus Larix should, from the first, be a 

 regular ring, while that of the other Conifers examined by M. BaiUon 

 presents, in its earliest condition, the appearance of two horse-shoes, 

 the observations of MM. BaiUon and Payer appear to me more than 

 doubtful. 



Were it however the case, that in some Conifers this integument 

 originated as two distinct tubercles, it would by no means necessarily 

 follow that these two tubercles indicate the presence of two organs 

 of distinct origin, not referable to the integument of the gemmule. 

 Eor: 



1. Two-lipped integuments are occasionally met with, which no 

 one regards as two distinct carpels. Thus in FolygaJa comosa the 

 outer coat of the ovule is produced obliquely upwards and subcucullate, 

 and is divided by a deep fissure into two lateral lobes. Payer 

 makes no mention of theseif in Folygala speciosa, though he figures§ 

 the ovule-coat of Treonandra verticillata as two-lipped, which is only 

 the case at a late stage of the development of the ovTile. The period 

 at which the lijjs appear seems, however, of little consequence. 



2. Other oi'gans certainly exist, which, though single and not 

 composed of two united together, do yet, at their first appearance, 

 show two distinct apices, as, for instance, the stipules of Victoria 

 regia and l^uryale ferox, whose evolution I have examined, and the 

 upper palea of grasses which Payer himself describes and figures in 

 Friza media, Fanicum aduncum, Triticum monococcum, JShrharta 

 panicea and Stipa juncea.\\ 



3. There are certain ovules whose coats sometimes originate 

 equally all round, while at other times, in the same species and even 

 in the same ovary, they are visible on one side earlier than on the 



* Richaid Mem., p. 63, t. xvii. no. 1. f. D. t !• c. p. 76, t> xvi. f. L. 



t Organogenie, t. xxxi. f. 39. § 1. c. t. xxix. f. 31, 37. 



II Organogenie, p. 701, et scq. 



