reps) NOTES AND COMMENTS. 167 
More Notes on SEEDLINGS. 
Tue January Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club opens with 
some ‘Studies upon Akenes and Seedlings of Plants of the Order 
Composite,’ by W. W. Rowlee, illustrated by five plates. The 
account, which occupies 17 pages, is much less comprehensive than 
that given in Lubbock’s recent work (vol. ii., pp. 98-161), and 
the general observations are of less value, being based on fewer 
experiments. Thus the cotyledons, we are told, vary in shape from 
spathulate to orbicular, but Lubbock gives several instances of linear 
cotyledons,—Bidens humilis, species of Ursinia, and Coreopsis gigantea ; 
the American author describes one species of Coreopsis (C. discoidea), 
which, however, like another species (C. Jaciniata) included by Lubbock, 
has broader cotyledons. Nor is any mention made of the interesting 
polymorphy of achenes, which obtains in the Old World genus 
Calendula. Mr. Rowlee’s studies form, however, a valuable addition 
to our knowledge, as the greater number of his species are not 
included in the larger work, and the genera are in many cases 
unrepresented. Moreover, figures are given of every species 
described, both of the fruit and seedling, and often two or more 
stages of the latter. 
The cotyledons of the Ox-eye Daisy are oblong, like those of the 
Corn Marigold and another species of Chrysanthemum (C. carinatum) 
figured by Lubbock, but Rowlee makes the two following leaves 
spathulate and entire, thus differing widely from their deeply-toothed 
character in the other two species. The seedling of the Yarrow 
corresponds with the description in the English work, except that there 
is no mention of any hairiness on the first leaves; it would be in- 
teresting to know whether they are glabrous in the New World, or the 
hairs have been merely overlooked. One Artemisia is described, viz., 
Wormwood (A. Absinthium), and its seedlings, we are told, may be 
distinguished from those of the Yarrow by the oblong shape and 
entire margin of the second and third leaves after the cotyledons. 
Comparison with the larger treatise shows that this is not a generic 
distinction, for there we find that in A. annua the corresponding leaves 
are three-toothed asin the Yarrow though in another species (A. 
Mutellina) entire. 
The Helianthus (H. divavicatus) mentioned bears a_ general 
resemblance to H. cucumerifolius, included by Lubbock, the cotyledons 
being ovate and obovate respectively, while in each case the first 
internode and following leaves are somewhat densely hairy. 
In speaking of the embryo, cotyledons and hypocotyl are in- 
variably distinguished, the latter term including everything below the 
cotyledons, and consequently the radicle. This seems a pity; the 
radicle is an organ so well marked, not only from a morphological, 
but also from physiological and anatomical points of view, that it 
is a pity to ignore or slight its presence in the earliest stages. 
Some remarks are also made on the germination of the seeds. 
