THE PLANT WORLD. 85 



purchasing port, where also, the pellicles themselves may be sold as 

 low-grade coffee. "Garblino;" is the color sorting, done by hand, 

 which follows "peeling"' and "hulling,'" the removal of parchment and 

 silver skin, and precedes the size-sorling which is done by sieves. 

 Great caie is necessary in the shipment of coffee to prevent wetting, to 

 avoid the proximity of mal odorous substances and to secure ventila- 

 tion. 



{To he continued.) 



THE DOUGLAS SPRUCE, PSEUD0T8UGA TAXIFOLIA. 



By Francis E. Lloyd. 

 ( Concluded. ) 



A very curious feature of the leaf of Pseudotsuga is the occurrence 

 of huge thick walled cells (Fig. 2/.) with tapering, branching arms 

 which penetrate between the cells of the surrounding parenchyma. 

 These stellate cells, astrosclereids or idioblasts as they have been called, 

 are arranged in two rows, running on either side of and parallel to the 

 median strand of vascular tissue. I have found them in leaves from 

 all parts of the tree. What purpose they serve is not always plain. 

 An explanation which naturally suggests itself is that they assist in the 

 mechanical support of the leaf, and are analogous to the spicules which 

 occur in most sponges. Strangely enough these cells are said by 

 McNab" to be absent from plants of this species cultivated in Great 

 Britain. If this observation is correct, it is certainly a phenomenon 

 difficult to explain. It should be pointed out that other genera, and 

 not alone this or other coniferous plants, possess these peculiar cells. 



The center of the leaf is occujjied by a strand of cells concerned 

 in the transportation of water and food, circular in transverse section. 

 The outer layer of the strand is readily distinguishable by the size and 

 regularity of the cells which constitute the endodermis. (Fig. 2).f 



The staminate and pistillate flowers are produced on all parts 

 above and below, of tlie same tree. The former are produced from 

 usually numerous small buds on the under sides of the twigs (Fig. 4.) 



*Quar. Jour. Mic. Sci. 1876, p. 414. 



fThe figures refer to the illustrations published in the last issue of The 

 Pi^ANT World. 



