PltOCEEDTNGS OF THE 



vegetable-paper material, wlio are not satisfied to provide the 

 raw material merely, but will attempt to treat it a little with 

 chemicals themselves. Every manufacturer in England knows the 

 result. 



Observations on Sedges. 



The flower of the Sedges is a reduction of the normal 3-merous 

 Monocotyledonous type. Eig. 1 shows the theoretically com- 

 plete diagram for an axillary flower — the common case iu Cype- 

 racese. This complete form is hardly found in the whole Order : 



Fig. 1. 



POSTICOUS. 



ANTICOtrS. 



there are plants in various genera — MyncJiospora, ScJioenus, &g. 

 — that have six perfect stamens ; but in these some of the sepals 

 and petals are absent, or, if not absent, so reduced that their 

 being petals or sepals may be disputed. And, on the other hand, 

 in those cases as Fuirena, where the sepals and petals are often 

 all present in their normal position, the three posticous stamens 

 are absent. 



The trigonous ovary is very commonly present. It is supposed 

 to be derived from an original 3-ovuled ovary ; but no trace of 

 more than one ovule is ever present. The single style has iu 

 these trigonous ovaries nearly always three long branches, which 

 are represented in position by (J) in the diagram. 



Eig. 2 represents the diagram of a flower very familiar to 

 every one who has examined a few Sedges. (I am at present 

 regarding the ovary only.) We here see the anticous face of 

 the nut much flattened, the auticous style-branch has gone away 



