Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 73. 



ridge of hair of a totally different character from that on the claw of 

 the spurred petal, heing at all ages pervious throughout, dilating 

 gradually from its hase to within a trifle of its extremity, when it 

 again gradually lessens in diameter, until it terminates almost spheri- 

 cally. There is not any second cell to be detected in any portion of 

 these tubes, even before the flower opens ; their origin and termina- 

 tion seem to be a simple cell, lengthening and dilating, and therefore 

 they are clearly unicellular. In the multicellular tube, it is evident 

 that in order to secure a tubular structure, nature clearly manifests 

 her intention by generating a single linear series of cells, and that 

 this multicellular tube shall be a cone, she as clearly manifests her 

 determination by generating cells gradually decreasing in transverse 

 diameter from the base to its apex ; and it would seem that where 

 she has completed her cellular arrangement as regards their position 

 and formation, her subsequent care is, by some peculiar and amalga- 

 mating process, to unite the adjoining cell-walls iuto one compact 

 septum, denominated a partition-wall. 



" As regards this septum, it is not unreasonable to hope that re- 

 peated and minute microscopical investigations of the progressive 

 growth and formation of the multicellular tube, at diiferent periods of 

 its age, may furnish material data on which to found a knowledge 

 of the probable mode of its absorption or removal. 



" To discover whether the comparative increase of growth of the 

 opening and fading flower kept pace with cellular conversion into 

 tube, I measured the transverse diameter of the tubular portions of the 

 two stages of growth of a cultivated plant, and found that the average 

 transverse tubular diameter of the hair of the multicellular tube of 

 an ordinary full-blown flower in September was 1-1 540th, whilst the 

 tubular diameter of the opening flower was 1 -2320th, giving an in- 

 crease during the blooming period of l-r74th. 



"The average of the tubular diameter of the unicellular tubes 

 which had been exposed to light and air in the full-blown flower of 

 the cultivated plant was 1 -928th, whilst the tubular diameter in the 

 opening flower was l-154Gth, giving an increase during the bloom- 

 ing period of 1-6 18th. On measuring the transverse diameter of 

 the multicellular tube of the full-blown flower in its native state, I 

 found it to be 1 -,3437th, whilst that in the opening flower was 

 l-2566th, giving an increase, during that portion of the blooming 

 period, of l-871th. 



" The diameter of the unicellular tube of the wild flower, which 

 was full blown, measured 1-1 82th, whilst that of the opening flower 

 was 1-13 70th, giving an increase of 1 -688th." 



2. "On the Cumberland forms of Myosotis," by Mr. James B. 

 Davies. In this paper, the author, after describing various forms of 

 Myosotis, of which specimens and drawings were exhibited, called 

 attention to the Myosotis palustris var. strigulosa (Reich.). 



3. " On the Plants found in Cumberland in June 1852," by Mr. 

 James B. Davies. The author gave an account of the species which 

 he had found in the Lake district of Cumberland during the month 

 of June. 



