254 PHOCEKIlI.VGS OF SOCIETIES. 



Rev. G. Henslow. The author referred to his previous paper read 

 before the Society in which lie ref^arded the opposite as the funda- 

 mental arranp;ement of phyllotaxy in Dicotyledons, and described the 

 various modifications of imbricate aestivation. Starting from the ordi- 

 nary pentastichous or quincuncial mode, in which two leaves of the 

 cycle are external and two internal, whilst one is half outside and 

 half in, special attention was called to the " half-imbricate " and 

 " imbricate proper" methods, in both of which there are one external, 

 one internal, and three intermediate leaves; the " imbricate proper" 

 is converted into the convolute mode, in which all the leaves are inter- 

 mediate, by the first leaf of the cycle being overlapped by the adjacent 

 third leaf. The " vexillary " and " cochlear " modes, and those of many 

 other irregular flowei's such as Cassia, are to be referred to the " half- 

 imbricate." The author agreed with Prof. A. Gray* in distinguishing 

 " convolute " from " contorted." A new theory of the nature of Cru- 

 ciferous flowers, which derived them from a primary type by symme- 

 trical reduction of the parts in each whorl, was explained ; and chorisis 

 was objected to as an explanation of the pairs of long stamens. The fre- 

 quency with which the corolla is found to develope subsequently to 

 the stamens was also mentioned in objection to PfefFer's view of 

 the corolla of Primula being an outgrowth of the andrcecium. — "On 

 Madagascar Ferns, collected by Mr. Poole," by J. G. Baker. Out of 

 120 species collected, no less than 30 are new ; five are tree-ferns, 

 one with curious dimorphic fronds as in HemiteUa. A remarkable 

 Lomaria with bipinnate bai'ren fronds, and a new Lycopodium, also 

 bipinnate, are included. — " On the glands of Acacia sphcerocephala and 

 Cecropia peltata" by F. Darwin. These glands are, as is well known, 

 food-bodies for ants ; in Cecropia they form cushions at the base of the 

 leaves ; in the Acacia they are pear- like bodies at the end of the lower 

 leaflets (there are also nectar glands on the petioles). The histology 

 of both are identical ; the Acacia food-bodies are compared to the 

 serrature glands of simple leaves which have been lately investigated 

 by Reinke. 



June 15th. — J. G. Allman, President, in the chair. — The following 

 botanical communications were read : — "On the superposed arrange- 

 ments of parts of the flower," by M. T. Masters. Superposition is 

 that condition of the parts of the floral whorls to which the term 

 opposite is usually applied, and is used in contrast to alternation. It 

 exists in numerous families. The various theoretical causes of this 

 state were passed in review. — " On the histology and development of 

 Ballia," by "W. Archer. This was collected at Kerguelen Island by 

 the Challenger and the Transit Expeditions. The author described the 

 circular pits which separate contiguous cells to be closed by plano- 

 convex " stoppers," which pass like rivets through the walls, and also 

 explained the peculiar articulation of the joints of the rachis, the 

 development of the branches, and the origin of the cortical investment 

 of confervoid filaments. — " On fresh-water Algre collected in Ker- 

 guelen Island by Mr. Moscley," by W. Archer. — " On the histology 

 of certain species of Corallinacece,'''' by P. M. Duncan and General 

 Nelson. The authors have worked with specimens from Bermuda 



• See Journ. Bot., p. 53. 



