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these fresh plants must be held to be proof that the seeds had been carried thither 

 by the wind, then the presence of his friend's Oolitic pillars might be taken as due 

 to the same cause. (Laughter). Badinage apart, the facts would not bear the 

 explanation. The wind did not bring those seeds to the neighboiuring ground, 

 nor has it this year brought such seeds to the ground where the plants grew last 

 year. Before those plants appeared on the spoU-banks, among the sand and 

 earth which had been dug up from the excavations, no such plants were to be 

 found within some miles of the spot. On a view of all the facts, he felt confident 

 that the assembled Clubs would, notwithstanding his friend's talent and humour, 

 return a verdict that his indictment was " not proven." (Laughter and applause) 



The President then called the attention of the meeting to a very singular 

 specimen of a hybridised plant, which had been sent to him by Mr. GodsaU, 

 Nurseryman, of Hereford. The stock of the tree was a common yellow laburnum, 

 but having been budded with a purple laburnum, it for some years produced 

 only purple flowers. Now, however, as in the branch before them, the tree 

 produced yellow flowers on one side and purple on the other ; and, which was 

 much more remarkable, a cytisus, with purple flowers. The occurrence of the 

 yellow flowers was easy to be accounted for by the known law of physiology, that 

 the ofispring has a tendency to return to the original type ; the stock of the tree 

 being the yellow laburnum, it was in this case making an efiort to return to its 

 normal state ; but the question remained, how came the cytisus there ? Pro- 

 bably the tree had been grafted with it before, but the singularity of its remaining 

 dormant, and then suddenly reappearing after a long interval, was worthy of 

 notice. 



Mr. Lingen then proceeded to deliver a short lecture, illustrated by coloured 

 diagrams, upon the formation of the seed and the bud, pointing out with great 

 clearness, and in an easy, lively style, the distinctions between the seeds of the 

 monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, and explsdning the distinction 

 between both those seeds and the spores of the fern. He remarked that the great 

 object of the plant was to produce a seed, and that the seed was designed to re- 

 produce the species, while the bud was designed to reproduce the individual 

 plant. After explaining the formation of the bud, he concluded amid applause, 

 by promising to resume the subject at a future meeting. 



The Rev. Mr. Hutchinson exhibited specimens of Botrychiiim lunaria, Poly- 

 gonatum muliiflorum, and Pyrola rotundifiora, all gathered in the neighbourhood 

 of Kimbolton. 



In the course of the evening it was stated that Mr. Edmunds had, within 

 the last few days, discovered Ranunculus caenosus, a plant supposed to be new to 

 the district ; and had also found Chrysosplenium alternifolium and Geranium 

 pyrenaicum in a fresh locality, all in the vicinity of Hereford. 



About 8 p.m. the party broke up, having spent a most delightful day. 



