70 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



oli have the impression that the large conns which form 

 above the old ones, gradually cease to produce good flowers, 

 while the cormels which are ordinarily produced in numbers 

 at the base of the old conns are supposed to possess greater 

 vigor. On the other hand, we may point out that the date 

 palm has been propagated from vegetative shoots for thou- 

 sands of years, and shows no deterioration in seed production. 

 It is very likely that plants which store an abundance of food 

 in underground parts have little left with which to produce 

 flowers and fruits, and this characteristic may well be a part 

 of the make-up of a given species or variety. But this field 

 is practically untouched as yet. As to the seeds in apples, 

 recent studies seem to indicate, that the number depends on 

 the crossing of the flower with pollen from some congenial 

 variety. There are so many complications of weather, pollina- 

 tion, season, soil, fertilizers and plant constitution connected 

 with this question that it may be a long time before it is settled. 

 Observations such as those of Mr. Bates, therefore are of 

 much interest. — Ed.] 



Molecular Structure in plants. — A French scientist 

 named Pictet suggests that the difference between the living 

 and non-living parts of plants may be merely the difference 

 in the architecture of the molecules composing them. Mole- 

 cules, as everybody knows, are composed of atoms and accord- 

 ing to our author there are only two fundamental plans in 

 which the atoms are arranged in them. In one, there is a sort 

 of linear, or chain-like arrangement; in the other, the atoms 

 form a ring or closed chain. To these forms, which serve as 

 axes, other atoms may be attached. These systems of 

 arrangement however, are not equally stable. It is compar- 

 atively easy for the chemist to cause a chain of atoms to 

 assume the cyclic form, but it is much more difficult to break 

 up the rings thus formed. The interesting fact in this con- 

 nection is that the materials which plants use as foods — 



