HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



255 



■will sometimes, it does not go to puzzle botanists by 

 imitating the centrifugal expansion of a cyme, but 

 the accessory bud appears above the principal, the 

 second flower is higher than the first, and commonly 

 smaller, it may be, with three sepals, a like number 

 of petals, and six stamens instead of eight. 



In plants with definite inflorescence accessory buds 

 may play a part as prominent and, to the eyes of 

 superficial observers, as misleading. The unilateral 

 flowers of the periwinkles would probably long ago 

 have been recognized as truly terminal, if it were not 

 for a bud in the axil of the leaf opposite a flower; from 

 which it was inferred that a flower-bud occupied the 

 axil of one leaf and a leaf-bud that of its fellow oppo- 

 site, which seemed a much more equitable arrange- 

 ment than if the flower were the true summit of the 

 stem with two leaves below it, one of them having 

 nothing in its axil, and the other having, first, a leaf- 

 bud grown into a branch apparently terminal, and a 

 second or accessory leaf-bud not elongated but yet 

 visible. A comparison of different species of peri- 

 winkle may satisfy us that such is nevertheless the 

 case. In the lesser periwinkle, Vinca minor, it some- 

 times happens in early spring before the first of April 

 that the true position of the flower is revealed, not 

 only by a stem which bears a flower opposite a soli- 

 tary leaf, and therefore certainly terminal in the esti- 

 mation of botanists, but by an occasional instance in 

 which a flower appears on the top of a stem which is 

 forked below it by the growth of a branch in the axil 

 of each of its uppermost leaves, as commonly happens 

 in the chickweed and other species of Stellaria. 

 Every cluster of the vine is opposite a leaf, so is every 

 tendril. The peduncle in this case is truly terminal, 

 and the branch which grows beyond it is the deve- 

 lopment of an axillary bud which the uppermost leaf 

 subtends. Here again a difficulty has arisen from 

 the occasional or frequent presence of a leaf-bud 

 opposite a flowerstalk or tendril. The difficulty dis- 

 appears when we learn to see in this leaf-bud nothing 

 but what is common to plants which have more than 

 one bud in the axil of a leaf, the first or principal bud 

 growing vigorously, while the second or accessory bud 

 is more weak and backward. 



A DAY'S BOTANISING AT HUNSTANTON. 



TO the north-east of the little town of Hunstan- 

 ton, beyond the chalk chffs, a long ridge of dunes 

 runs along the seashore for some distance, and in 

 an opening in these is enclosed a salt-marsh of no 

 very great extent, but a rich field for botanists. 



With the object of exploring this we assembled at 

 the Cambridge station on the morning of the nth of 

 August, all of course provided with " botanical tins." 

 It was a beautiful morning, but long before we had 

 reached Hunstanton it came on to rain, and all the 



rest of the day was wet. And what made it more 

 provoking was that only two of the party had taken 

 umbrellas, all thinking it would be fine. 



After dining at an inn just beyond the chffs (at old 

 Hunstanton) we commenced our tramp in the wet — 

 partly along the top of the dunes, partly behind them. 

 Nothing of any importance was found, although 

 Cyyioglossum officinale, which was in fruit, happened 

 to be new to one of the party. Had it been fine, 

 our intention was to come down on the marsh at its 

 farthermost end and follow it right along, but as it 

 was, we climbed up the sandbank which hid it from 

 our view, and, coming down began to find rare plants 

 at every step. Beside the marsh, on the side farthest 

 from the sea, of course : Siuvda frnticosa, stem 

 shrubby at base ; S. maritima ; Armeria vulgaris, 

 Atriplex porhdacoides, leaves nearly white, perennial ; 

 Frankenia Iccvis was found by only one of the party. 

 Going on to, and then crossing the marsh, which, 

 though very wet, is not treacherous, we found Statice 

 Linioniitvi, making the marsh purple with its beauti- 

 ful panicles of purple flowers ; S. auricithxfolia, 

 leaves smaller ; .S". reticulata [caspia) a smaller plant, 

 with many flowerless branches to its inflorescence ; 

 Triglochin niaritimntn growing thickly in places, its 

 tall and now brown spikes being very conspicuous, 

 though the other species, T. paliistre, which is said 

 to occur, was not found. The little Sediim Angliciini 

 was growing in places. The rain prevented our 

 devoting so long to the various species as we should 

 have done otherwise, so we merely got our specimens 

 as rapidly as possible, and then returned by the sand- 

 banks nearer the sea, finding on our way such mari- 

 time plants as Erynginni maritiiimm, Salsola Kali, 

 Salicornia herbacea, Arenaria peploides, Carex are- 

 naria ; we did not, however, look up the carices. I 

 found a good " razor shell " {Sole/i ensis). 



From the inn, I returned by the foot of the cliff" of 

 which the geology is most interesting, a peculiar red 

 chalk forms the lower part of them. But we had no 

 time to devote to this, and the only geologist of the 

 party had given over his hammer to one of the others 

 and spent the rest of his time on the mussel beds, 

 hunting for shells, I believe. 



In the hope of finding microscopic objects I had 

 provided half-a-dozen corked tubes, which I hurriedly 

 filled with diatoms from the numerous shallow pools 

 on the marsh. Each tube contained different forms 

 of free Diatomaceae which I have few opportunities 

 of procuring ; some were very beautiful. I filled one 

 from the " sand ripples " on the seashore. 



Entomology was, of course, quite out of the ques- 

 tion. The frequent excursion trains make Hunstanton 

 easier of access than it would otherwise be. Let us 

 hope that the rarer plants will not be exterminated 

 after the manner, alas ! too usual. 



George H. Bryan. 



Cambridge. 



