NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 489 



In addition to specimens of Loranths in situ upon portions of 

 the stems or branches of some of the more uncommon hosts 

 in the above list, Mr. Fletcher exhibited eleven branches 

 or parts of stems — being portions of eight individual plants 

 of Loranthus celastroides, parasitic upon four Eucalypts, two 

 Angophoras, a Quince tree, and a Pinus insignis. These 

 eight Loranths had been victimised in their turn by seven- 

 teen Loranths (shown in situ upon the host- Loranths) refer- 

 able to three species. Attention was directed to the marked 

 absence of the usual signs of the irritability which manifests 

 itself in the production of woody excrescences or tumours on 

 the host in the immediate vicinity of its junction with the 

 parasite, invariably present when the former belongs to any 

 other Natural Order than the Lorantliacece (illustrative examples 

 were shown). This is the characteristic difference; for several of 

 the specimens exhibited showed that L. celastroides and Z. longi- 

 florus normally develop runners or creeping stems with haustoria 

 ("roots" of Backhouse) whether the host be a Loranth or a 

 member of some other natural order than the Loranthacece — con- 

 trary to the supposition of Mr. Backhouse."^ The suggestion was 

 offered that the exhibits were possibly natural grafts comparable 

 with the artificial grafts of the gardener — that is to say, cases in 

 which there was cohesion of the corresponding constituents of 

 the tissues of scion and stock (cambium with cambium, etc.); 

 though in the case of the former perhaps the radicle may even 

 develop rhizoids in the initial stages. The subject was an 

 interesting one, worthy of detailed investigation. 



Mr. Musson stated that he had investigated the Loranths of 

 the Hawkesbury Agricultural College farm at Richmond, an 



* Exceptionally runners or creeping stems are absent; and it would appear 

 that one of these exceptional specimens presented itself to Mr. Backhouse. 

 But whether in such cases there is no development of runners at any stage; 

 or whether the apparent absence is due merely to failure to secure satisfactory 

 attachments, followed by atrophy and disappearance — are matters that need 

 looking into. 



