752 RECOED OF CUEEENT EESEAECHES RELATING TO 



Disengag-ement of Heat which accompanies the Expansion of 

 the Male Inflorescence of Dioon edule.* — This cycad has recently 

 flowered abundantly in the hot-hoTises of the Botanic Gardens at 

 Paris. The opening of the male inflorescence was .attended by a 

 strong and nauseous odour, coinciding apparently with the dehiscence 

 of the anthers. M. Poisson has observed that this was accompanied 

 by an elevation of temperature of at least 10° C. ; and that the dis- 

 engagement of heat is promoted by light, and is consefjuently more 

 marked on the side exposed to light than on the shady side. 



Spiral Cells in the Root of Nuphar advenum.f— M. Pihier notes 

 in the root of this plant a single superficial layer of these cells, 

 analogous, in their appearance and their situation, to those described 

 by M. Chatin in the aerial roots of epidendral orchids. This struc- 

 ture, all the more exceptional in its character from its occurrence here 

 in submerged roots, may be held to establish a new point of similarity 

 between the Nymphpeacese and the order placed by many botanists at 

 the head of Monocotyledons as respects complexity of structure. 



Structure of the Fruit of Conium maculatum.l — M. Moynier 

 de Villepoix has made a more careful examination of the structure of 

 the fruit of the hemlock than has hitherto been conceded to it. He 

 finds in the seed an abundant endosperm, as is usual in Umbelliferfe, 

 formed of polygonal cells with thin walls, and containing gi-ains of 

 aleurone. This is bounded on the outside by two zones of brown 

 cells which have long been known as especially characteristic of the 

 mericarp of the hemlock. Thirdly, there is the pericarp, properly so 

 called, in the parenchymatous tissue of which are the organs of 

 secretion or vittje, although the fruit of Conium is frequently de- 

 scribed as being destitute of these. 



Modifications which Starch undergoes from a Physical Point 

 of View.§ — F. Musculus thus sums up the results of a series of 

 experiments : — 



Starch can be obtained in the colloid or crystalloid state. 



In the colloid state it is soluble in water, is coloured blue by iodine, 

 is not difi"usible, is easily converted into sugar by ferments and dilute 

 acids, and readily passes over into a condition insoluble even in boiling 

 water, and is then scarcely acted on by ferments or acids, and assumes 

 a red or yellow colour under the subsequent iodine reaction. After 

 treatment with concentrated sulphuric acid or soda-ley, the blue colour 

 is again obtained by iodine, and ferments or dilute acids have a 

 powerful action. 



Crystalline starch consists of separate crystals which readily unite 

 into plates, and then become gradually less soluble in water, so that 

 crystalline starch behaves in this respect like colloid ; on the other 

 hand, it remains soluble iu water of 50°-60° C, is difiusible, though 

 with difficulty, and is readily acted on by ferments or dilute acids. 



* ' Bull. Soc. Bot. France,' xxv. (1878) p. 253. 

 t Ibid., p. 1C3. X IL'id., p. 166. 



§ 'Bot. Zeit.,' xxxvii. (1879) p. 315. 



