July 1, 1S67J 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



151 



of the Toad Rush (Juncus bufonius). A subse- 



qucut visit to the brickfields enabled me to confirm 

 this impression, and to collect numerous specimens 

 in all stages of germination. Many of the seeds 

 sprout while still within the rotting capsule, and 

 emerge from its cavity 'iu brilliant little tufts, such 

 as those which first caught my eye. The seeds are 

 very small, oblong, somewhat three-cornered, and 



Fig. 150. The Toad Rush. 



on cutting them down lengthwise they may be seen 

 to be filled in the interior with floury matter 

 (albumen), at one end of which is a very minute 

 embryo, which a lucky touch with the needle will 

 serve to detach ; and which, when examined under a 

 lens, is seen to be a mere torso, a headless, limbless 

 trunk,— in other words, a solid embryo in which no 

 distinction of parts is visible. As germination pro- 

 ceeds, one end of this lengthens and protrudes to 

 form the first root; afterwards comes the green 

 thread, or cotyledon, the upper end of which never 

 separates from the seed till both decay together, 

 while its lower extremity forms the sheath before 

 mentioned, encircling what must be considered as 

 the extremely contracted stem, from which the other 

 leaves proceed in due time. Ultimately, a tuft of 

 leaves is formed around a little bulb-like mass, 

 from whose lower surface proceed a number of 

 young rootlets. TYhile all this is going on, the 

 original cotyledon and the primary root are gra- 

 dually decaying; they have accomplished their 

 parts, and give place to a new generation. 



Not heeding the temptations which the very 

 simplicity of the embryo in this plant holds out to 

 go into " transcendental " dissertations as to the 

 intrinsic identity or diversity of leaf and stem, I 



venture merely to recommend those of my readers 

 in search of an occupation to watch the processes 

 of germination in our common wild plants. No 

 great trouble and but little skill are requisite for 

 these observations, which, nevertheless, are interest- 

 ing, all the more so that it is comparatively new 

 ground; in hardly a tenth part of our wild plants 

 has the process been correctly observed and 

 recorded. Nor is there the sameness that might 

 be expected ; on the contrary, there is much 

 diversity, in some cases of a very singular character, 

 e.g., in some of the genera of Umbellifers, while 

 systematic investigation could hardly fail to be 

 productive of results of great value to botanical 

 science. I have only to add that in all essential 

 points the mode of germination here described in 

 the Toad Rush finds its parallel in many other 

 monocotyledons, e.g., Allium, Canna, some palms, 

 &c. M. T. M. 



OOTOLITES. 



A T the meeting of the Quekett Microscopical 

 ■£*- Club (April 26th), Mr. Higgins read a 

 communication on "The Auditory Apparatus of 

 Eishes," of which the following is a digest : — 



All air-breathing animals live in a different medium 

 from that inhabited by those living in water, and 

 the adaptation of their organization to the condi- 

 tions of their existence is nowhere more clearly 

 marked than in their organs of hearing. In the 

 Mammalia the complexity of structure in these 

 organs is much greater than in lower orders, and 

 probably enables them to distinguish in a greater 

 degree the modulations of sound. In air-breathing 

 animals the auditory organs may be said to consist 

 mainly of the ossicula auditus and the cochlea, 

 with an external ear, the use of the latter being to 

 receive and collect the vibrations of sound. In 

 fish an auditory organ of this description would be 

 a very great nuisance, because water conveys sound 

 so much more readily than air that the effect of a 

 small sound would produce the sensation of stunning. 

 True fish are, therefore, deprived of the external 

 ear, except in some members of the Ray family and 

 the Sharks, where there is a small process which 

 occupies the position of an ear. In almost all 

 other fish the whole of the auditory organs are 

 contained in the ootochrones, which are two holes, 

 one on either side of the head. The internal 

 surfaces of the bones of the heads of fish are 

 covered with cartilage, and the semicircular canals, 

 though not large, are not more than half the size of 

 the holes through which they pass, and they are 

 delicately suspended in the middle of them by 

 means of a number of fine threads, the object of 

 this probably being to lessen the shocks which loud 

 sounds might otherwise produce. There are very 



