ON THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE BRITISH SALICES, 167 
In conclusion, I may add that although the macrospores of Dr. 
Hanstein’s sporocarps grew into prothallia, he was not able to discover 
that the microspores yielded any: spermatozoa. The prothallia all de- 
cayed without producing young plants, although in some of the arche- 
gonia the rudiments of an embryo were seen. Hofmeister (On the 
Higher Cryptogamia, Ray Society’s Publications, 1862) is of opinion 
that the small spores lose their power of germination sooner than the 
larger spores. In his experiments on Marsilea pubescens, the macro- 
spores which were 84 years old produced prothallia, whilst the small 
spores exhibited no change. 
EXPLANATION oF PLATE VI. 
Fig. 1. Marsi! pus, d living sp in my possession, slightly 
reduced, and raised from fruit brought to Melbourne by King. 9. Two. sporocarps, 
natural size. 3. The contents of the sporocarp, protruded by boiling, natural size ; 
9, J, skeleton of vascular bundles; s, sori. sorus, seen on the inner side A 
sorus, seen on the outer side. 6. An opening sporocarp, containing 20 sori. 7. A 
fully developed geiatinons ring, with 21 sori, natural size; 7, the ventral portion of 
the ring. 8. A fruit-valve of the specimen shown in fig. 3, with a portion of the 
gelatinous string between the vascular network ; figures 2-8 after Hanstein. 
ON THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE BRITISH SALICES. 
By Cares C. Basineton, Esq., M.A., F.R.S. 
The definition and classification of Willows has long been a disgrace 
to systematic botany. Is there any person in England who pretends 
that he can determine a Salis from the descriptions contained in any 
of our Floras, and are our Continental brethren in a much better con- 
dition? It is to be feared that an answer in the negative must be re- 
turned to each clause of this question. Every attempt, therefore, to 
facilitate the study of these plants, and to improve their classification, 
is well deserving of attention. 
It appears that as long since as 1824 M. Dumortier published a 
new classification of Willows, in a Dutch journal, called ‘ Bijdragen tot 
de Natuurkundige Wetenschappen,’ in which he established five sub- 
genera of Salix :— : 
l. AMERINA, the typical Willows; the Fragiles, Alba, and Triandre 
