20^ Scientific Intelligence. — ^Botany, 



vegetation * and fructification. On both of these, Decandoile has 

 presented us with an account of all tliat has been discovered by 

 others, or by himself. The following is a concise view of what 

 he has said on the first point ; and, it must be recollected, that, 

 without the aid of his plates, it is impossible to enter into any 

 details. ,The roots are nearly all fibrous and branched, but, in 

 some annuals, simple ; sometimes they are tuberous, and sub- 

 ject to three different modifications. The stems are exceedingly 

 varied^ from a tender annual to a tree of sixty feet high ; but 

 the branches are usually either longitudinally striated or angled. 

 The leaves seem to present very striking differences. The first 

 leaves, or lobes of the cotyledons, are either opposite or alter- 

 nate; but, in maturity, the leaves of nearly all the species of 

 the family are alternate. As to their composition, they are either, 

 (J.) simply pinnated, without an odd one; (2.) simply pinnated, 

 with an odd one ; (3.) palmated ; (4.) twice or thrice pinnated, 

 which have very rarely an odd leaflet. That the number of times 

 the pinnation takes place is irregular, Decandoile happily illus- 

 trates in Plate I. by the genus Gleditsia. M. Decandoile denies 

 that the Leguminosae have simple leaves, but he enumerates six 

 different w^ays by which a leaf really compound may be taken at 

 first sight for a simple leaf. It has been long known, that what 

 many take for a simple leaf in this family, is only a dilated petiole, 

 or what Decandoile calls a phyllodium. The hairs and glands 

 on the Leguminosae present few variations ; but the spines very 

 many. — On what regards the fructification, we must refer to the 

 book itself. Of the disposition of the flowers, the soldering of 

 the sepals and petals, their regularity or irregularity, the com- 

 binations or number of the stamina, we can give no short ac- 

 count ; nor shall we enter upon the proofs brought forward that 

 the Leguminosae, when they have only one carpell, have so 

 only by abortion of some others. The second memoir is on the 

 germhiation of this family. This memoir is full of interest, and 

 tends to shew that the germination ought to be closely attended 

 to in the classification of these plants ; and we are even furnished 



• This term, as far as we know, has no other more precise English term ; 



it refers to all the parts of a plant, except those concerned with the flowers 



and fruit. 



3 



