|g20,] Scientific Intelligence. 231 



similar result. I have myself had t^vo leaves of the « cotyledon 

 caWcTna " in my pocket hook for three months. Young perfect 

 SsuppUed with roots have sprung from some of the mden- 

 tations of the leaf, and continue to grow. 



VII. On the Uniformity of Ltsular Climate. By Mr. Murray. 

 The temperature of springs has been pronounced an index of 

 the mean temperature of a country. The sea preserves a umfoim 

 tem^rature, and is not subject to variable heat or cold : he 

 consequence of all this will be, that the an- mcumbent on the 

 bosomTf the ocean will participate of this mean temperature 

 andTy minghng with the atmosphere pendant over small islands 

 bv a teSlency to an equilibrium impart to it a uniformity not 

 enjoyed by inknd tracts of country. This is in some measure 

 partx^cipatJd in by such soils as border upon the sea coast ; an 

 earlier vegetation and maturity always characterize them Ihey 

 are not checked by those sudden transitions which ^a^;^ -ther 

 situations. An island in the ocean may be compared to a gar- 

 den-pot plunged into a bed of equal temperature. In inland 

 countaes^egetation must be more affected by the rapid varia- 

 tions which fesult from radiation and other causes and which 

 have no compensating curb. Numerous are the facts which 1 

 h^ve coUect^d, and 'which go ^o ^f ^ablish this opinioi. It 

 would be unnecessary to adduce them here. In the Isola 

 Bella," and " Isola madre," are plants exposed, and a ways 

 unprotected, which even in southern Italy would be so"gh for 

 in vain under such circumstances, as the arundo sacchanjuu, 

 coffea arabica, &c. 



VIII. On the Vegetation of Bulbous Roots in Water. 

 By Mr. Murray. 



1 made last winter some experiments on bulbs growing in 

 water chiefly with reference to a transition into varied media, 

 and a short detail of some of them here, while they afford infor- 

 mation with regard to the functions of the roots, n^ay not be 

 deemed uninteresting. The bulbs were those of the hyacinth. 



The Dutch keep the hyacinth when newly placed on the bulb 

 glass for some time in the dark to induce good roots and tor this 

 purpose by way of comparison with other bulb g asses I used 

 coloured ones. The fibres of the root seem generally to attain a 

 greater longitude in coloured glasses, in the green especially, 

 lu the blue! the fibres are marked by the singularly strong ones 

 which subsequently surround the margin. ^u , .^ 



The very strong swollen fibres which characterize the lattei 

 stage of the plant is, perhaps, connected with the evolution ot 

 the flower at that period when it should declare itself. At any 

 rate there are two distinct series of roots, and the primitive, more 

 minute fibres shrink when the others emerge. 



