Miscellanies. 205 
Wednesday, Feb. 19.—R. H. Solly, Esq. in the chair. A paper was 
read by Mr. Queckett, on the development of the vascular tissue of plants, 
in which it was shown that the membranous tube of vessels originated 
from a cytoblast in a manner similar to that described by Schleiden in 
the formation of cells, from which it is at first difficult to recognize them ; 
but in a short time, they assume a very elongated form, and the cytoblast 
disappears. Before the fibre is deposited, the contents, which are gela- 
tinous, are crowded with numerous most minute granules, which possess the 
motion known as that of “ active molecules,” and after a short time, when 
they have become a little enlarged, they adhere to the inner surface of the 
tube containing them in a different manner for each vessel; so that the 
several varieties of vascular tissue are not degenerations of each other, 
but are constructed originally on the plan they are always observed to pre- 
sent to the eye. 
It had been conjectured by Schleiden that a current existed between 
the gelatinous contents of the cell and its walls, which preceded the for- 
mation of a fibre, and gave the direction it afterwards took; this was re- 
futed by showing that the granules became separately attached to the in- 
side of the vessel, at a little distance from each other, beginning first at 
one end and proceeding to the opposite, the fibre elongating like a root, 
by the materials of growth being always added to the point. The gran- 
ules so attached, becoming nourished by the contents of the vessel, and 
the spaces between them are in a short time obliterated by the fibre 
occupying a defined border, which completes its development. [The va- 
ried manner in which the granules are deposited, so as to produce all the 
varieties of vascular tissue, is explained in the remaining portion of the 
abstract of Mr. Queckett’s paper.|—F'rom the Annals of Natural History 
Sor March, 1840. 
31. On the remarkable diffusion of Coralline Animaicules from 
the use of Chalk in the arts of life, as observed by Ehrenberg.—An 
examination of the finest powdered sorts of chalk which are used in 
trade, has afforded Prof. Ehrenberg the following result: that even 
in this finest condition, not merely the inorganic part of the chalk is 
become separated, but that it remains mixed with a great number of 
well-preserved forms of the minute shells of coral animalcules. As 
powdered chalk is used for paper hangings, Prof. Ehrenberg also ex- 
amined these, as well as the walls of his chamber which were simply 
washed with lime, and even a kind of glazed vellum paper called vis- 
iting cards, and obtained the very visible resuli—demonstrating the 
minuteness of division of independent organic life; that those walls 
and paper-hangings, and so, doubtless, all similar walls of rooms, 
houses, and churches, and even glazed visiting cards prepared in the 
zbove mentioned manner, (of which cards, however, many are made 
