OF THE OYULE AND SEED-COATS OE MAGNOLIA. 107 



lam not aware of any more recent direct investigation of the seeds 

 of Magnolia. But in an elaborate memoir in the ' Transactions 

 of the Linnean Society,' vol. xxii., Mr. Miers argnes the question 

 in detail, and reiterates his view formerly expressed, viz. " that 

 the external fleshy envelope must be arilliform, the thick osseous 

 nut must be the testa," &c. ; that the raphe, or what he calls 

 the " placentary sheath with its enclosed spiral vessels * * * after- 

 wards becomes expanded by almost imperceptible degrees over 

 the primine, until it finally envelopes it * * * and assumes the form 

 of a distinct scarlet fleshy covering over the testa, being quite 

 arilliform in its structure and appearance." And my excellent 

 opponent goes on to state, that — " The only circumstance that 

 bears any weight in the opposite view of the question, is one 

 which certainly ought to have its due importance, and is one 

 which I have never doubted in the smallest degree ; viz. that Dr. 

 Grray has watched the progress of the growth of the seed from 

 the ovule, and could never detect any subsequent or extraneous 

 production over the primine." 



This " circumstance " does not appear to have had much weight, 

 perhaps not so much as it was entitled to, considering that I had 

 declared that very easy observation in the living plant sufficed to 

 show that neither the fleshy nor the bony coat of the seed ori- 

 ginated in the way Mr. Miers supposed, and had, moreover, 

 asserted that I had arrived, from direct observations, at a different 

 explanation of their nature and origin. Although not disposed 

 to claim any particular authority for the observations made by 

 Mr. Sprague and myself, even while they remain completely 

 uncontradicted by any contrary observation, I may be allowed to 

 express the opinion that a very simple and bare statement of what 

 I said we saw, cannot properly be called an " argument," and stiU 

 less, " ingenious reasoning." And I might equally object to having 

 the candidly stated and unexpected discovery of the true origin of 

 the bony coat (the only thing of any consequence which we have 

 brought to light), described as an ingenious substitution of an en- 

 tirely new view of the subject, if I were not well assured that my 

 much-respected friend would, on reflection, at once disavow the 

 implication. 



My present object is simply to publish a selection from the 

 sketches in which my observations (again repeated the present 

 season) have been recorded by the accurate pencil of Mr. Sprague. 

 They tell their own story, and are naturally entitled to more 

 regard than my descriptive statement. I am indebted to the 



