1886-87.] supposed Neiv British Species of Sa,gmsi. 85 



any other of the genus, and is perhaps an example of arrested 

 development, or of the ancestral form of the ovary and 

 capsule m the Sagincc. In this connection reference may be 

 made to a paper, " On the Origin of the Placentas in the 

 Tribe Alsinese," by Miss G. Lister, in the Journal of the 

 Linncan Society, vol. xx. p. 423. From this paper it would 

 seem that the ovary of Sagina is not in its earlier stages 

 unilocular but 4— 5-locular, and that the flattened top of the 

 capsule which falls away represents the remains of the dis- 

 sepiments. In other species of the genus these traces of 

 primitive structure, if such it is, disappear at an earlier stage 

 of growth. If the structvire of the ovary and capsule of 

 Sagina Boydii is what I suppose it to be, an investigation of 

 its development should be highly interesting. It may be 

 that I have not come across mature capsules, the little increase 

 in size of the supposed capsule beyond that of the ovary being 

 in favour of this view ; on the other hand, I believe that I found 

 what appeared to be mature seed in a capsule, and also, if I 

 mistake not, I have seen much variation in the relative size 

 of the ovary and capsule in other species of the genus. 

 Be this as it may, I have seen no similar structure of the 

 ovary and styles in any other species. 



Notes on the Finding of Trichomanes radicans in Arran in 

 August 1863. By W. B. Simson.* 



(Read 11th November 1886.) 



In August 1863 I happened to be staying in summer 

 quarters in the neighbourhood of Brodick, and as I was then 

 in my first enthusiasm on the subject of fern-collecting, I 

 spent a large portion of my time in scouring the country 

 in quest of new additions to my collection. 



After a time some one informed me that the walking 

 postman between Brodick and Corrie, Eobert Douglas by 

 name, was in the habit of collecting ferns for sale to summer 

 visitors, and that he might be able to tell me of localities 

 where various ferns were to be found. I accordingly made 

 bis acquaintance, but found that his knowledge of ferns was 

 very limited, and his nomenclature not to be depended on. 



One day I met him on the road when on my way to the 

 * See also Gardeners' Chronicle, No. 10, 1864 p. 220. 



