284 THE STRUCTURE OF FLOWERS. 



to it. On the other hand, a gland may have its own proper 

 vascular system, as in Lamium album, in which case a 

 circular horizontal ring of vascular cords is formed from the 

 pistillary cords ; from this are given off a series of vertical 

 cords, r'jnning up into the gland itself. 



There can be no a priori objection to the supposition that 

 an organ, when degenerating and becoming rudimentary, 

 may acquire a new form and function ; for such, indeed, is 

 not infrequently the case. But what perhaps may be more 

 usual, is that some other organ becomes more highly de- 

 veloped through compensation. Thus, for example, the 

 leaflets of the Pea, in becoming tendrils, lose all trace of a 

 blade, retaining only their mid-ribs. These, however, now 

 elongate and acquire sensitiveness, for the use of climbing. 

 On the other hand, in compensation for the loss of a certain 

 amount of leaf surface, the stipules are very broad and 

 foliaceous. Again, in the ray florets of Centaurea the essen- 

 tial organs have vanished altogether, but the corolla is 

 greatly enlarged in comparison with those of the disk 

 florets.* 



* For a discussion npon " rndimentary organs," and their bearing 

 upon the theory of Evolution, I would refer the reader to my work on 

 Evolution and Religion (the " Actonian " Prize Essay for 1872), chap, 

 xiii., p. 197. 



