152 W. H. GILBURT ON THE 



time before coming into my possession, so that any conclusions as to 

 function at which I might have arrived would have been alto- 

 gether unreliable. However, there is no doubt as to their morpho- 

 logical value, viz., that they are trichomes or hairs, being developed 

 from and outgrowths of a single epidermal cell. For these organs 

 Dr. Tait proposes the name of " Multifids," from their similarity 

 to the four-armed hairs existing in Utricularia, and which Dr. 

 Darwin has called " Quadrifids." The author then goes on to say 

 that in some cases the multifids are only raised slightly above the 

 surface of the epidermis, when he speaks of them as " multifid 

 buds," and continues : — '' In certain pitchers the multifid buds, 

 instead of appearing wholly above the epithelial surface, are seen to 

 dip partially under it, and this may be seen in favourable instances 

 to advance till the epithelium almost meets over the top of the bud. 

 In this case the protoplasm of the bud may be seen marked by 

 distinct divisions, varying in number from two to nine, the latter 

 being the largest number which I have seen. These divisions of 

 the cell seem to send up processes which appear at the surfaces 

 between the interstices of the epithelium, and such modifications are 

 generally associated with a peculiar system of intercellular canals to 

 be afterwards described. This involution of multifid buds is seen in 

 many surfaces, but it is especially associated with the absorption of 

 decayed or digested animal matter. When the epithelium com- 

 pletely covers these structures I propose to call them included 

 glands, for similar, if not absolutely identical glands, are found in 

 the tissues of many plants, some of which are already known as 

 digesters, as in Drosera and Pinguicula.''^ And again : — " In very 

 many cases where they are included they may be seen to occupy 

 lacunar enlargements in the system of intercellular canals, and even 

 where no such canals can be seen they occupy the spaces between 

 the large cells of the parenchyma (as in Pingidculci) in a position 

 where their aid would be almost as efi"ectual." 



Now the theory implied here, though not stated, can hardly be 

 considered satisfactory, and is simply this : that these trichomes or 

 hairs, surface glands, and sub-epidermal glands in pitcher plants 

 and in the other plants referred to are but modifications the one of 

 the other. That this estimate of their value is unreal, will, I think, 

 readily be seen, if we look for a moment at the origin of the several 

 structures, and remember that trichomes or hairs — no matter how 

 complicated or elaborate their ultimate form may be — result from 



