72 REPORT — 1851. 



On a Mo7istrosily of Latliyrus odoratus. 

 By Edwin Lankester, M.D., F.R.S. 



This specimen was presented to the Section by John King, Esq., of Ipswich, in whose 

 garden it liad grown. Tlie papilionaceous petals were reduced to mere scales, and 

 the calyx assumed a less developed and perfectly regular form. The stamens were no 

 longer diadelphous, but regular, 10 in number, and arranged in two rows. The car- 

 pels were reduced to the condition of a single leaf, on which were seated rudimentary 

 ovules. The leaves and branches were not so large or expanded as is usual with 

 healthy specimens of this plant. 



On the Theory of the Formation of Wood and the Descent of the Sap in Plants. 

 By Edwin Lankester, M.D., F.R.S. 



The author drew attention to tl>e theory of the formation of wood in j)lants, and 

 objected to the view tliat the leaves foim the wood, on the ground that the ligneons, like 

 all other tissues, were the result of the growth of cells, which were not formed in the 

 leaves; but wood was formed in all parts of tb.e plant where elongated cells were ge- 

 nerated, quite independently of leaves cr the formation of leaves ; as in the lower part 

 of the cut wounds pf the stems of plants, in the portions of trunks left when trees were 

 cut down, in the abortive branches formed in the bark of such trees as the elm and the 

 cedar, and in the other parts of the vegetable structure. He also objected to the theory 

 of the formation of the ligneous, or any other secretion, which might be subsequently 

 appropriated by the cells, in the leaves alone. He maintained that all the facts brought 

 forward to support the theory of the descent of the sap might be explained on the 

 known fact of the ready permeability of the tissues of the plant. He related the de- 

 tails of experiments performed on the species of spurge, in which the fluid was found 

 to exude from the stem and branches in these plants just in proportion to the quantity 

 of fluid contained in the plants above or below the section made. The cells of plants 

 were nourished in two ways: — first, by the sap containing carbonic acid, ammonia, 

 and other substances ; and secondly, by materials, as sugar, gum, &c., formed in the 

 cells. These latter were not formed solely in the leaves, but in all cells. He regarded 

 the leaves as organs by which the water of the sap was got rid of, and by this means a 

 further supply of sap from the earth and atmosphere was ensured. This function was 

 performed in subservience to changes which were attributed to a specific vitality. It 

 was unphilosophical to speak of vitality as a force when it could not be demonstrated 

 to exist, and especially when physical forces were capable of explaining the phee- 

 notnena. 



Notes on the Botanical Geography of part of the Himalaya and Tibet. 

 By Major E. Madden and Captain R. Strachey, Bengal Engineers. 



This paper was illustrated by a sectional drawing of the Himalaya mountains, from 

 the plains of India to Tibet, passing through the British province of Kum^on, on which 

 the names of the more striking plants were inserted at the elevations where they were 

 found. The section commencing from the southern face of the mountains first repre- 

 sented the band of forest that skirts their foot, chiefly composed of the trees of tropical 

 India. Ascending, we find forms of temperate climates gradually introduced above 

 3000 feet,— Pi?»M, Rosa. Rubtts, Oak, Berberis, Primula, &:c. At 5000 feet the ar- 

 boreous vegetation of the ])lains is altogether superseded by such trees as Oak, Rho- 

 dodendron, Andromeda, Cypress and Pine. Tlie first ridge crossed, ascends to a 

 height of 8700 feet in a distance of not more than 10 or 12 miles from the termination 

 of the plains. The European character of the vegetation is here thoroughly established, 

 and although specific identities are comparatively rare, the representative forms are 

 most abundant. On a part of this ridge is found a Palm, that on some mountains, 

 not far off, attains a height of 50 feet at an elevation of more than 8000 feet above the 

 sea, where it is every year covered with snow. Passing onwards we enter a zone of 

 less elevation which is comparatively devoid of wood, and is chiefly devoted to agri- 

 culture. The climate is not very dissimilar to that of Northern India, but not nearly 

 80 hot, and many species of tropical plants occur. Crossing another ridge, similar in 

 its vegetation to that first mentioned, we descend into the valley of the Sarjie, one of 



