Miscellaneous. 245 



pigment-cells of the skin in a varietj' of young fishes, I now resorted 

 to this method to identify my embryos. Happily we had on board 

 several pelagic fishes alive, which could aftbrd means of comparison ; 

 but unfortunately the steamer was shaking too much and rolling too 

 heavily for microscopic observation of even moderately liigh powers. 

 Kothiug, however, should be left untried ; and the very first compari- 

 son I made secured the desired result. The pigment-cells of a young 

 Chironedes pictus proved identical with those of our little embiyos. 



It thus stands as a well authenticated fact that the common pela- 

 gic Chironectes of the Atlantic (named Chironectes j)ictus by Cm-ier) 

 builds a nest for its eggs, in which the progeny is wrapped up with 

 the materials of which the nest itself is composed ; and as these ma- 

 terials are living gulf- weed, the fish-cradle, rocking upon the deep 

 ocean, is carried along as an undying arbour, aff'ording at the same 

 time protection and afterward food for its living freight. 



This marvellous story acquires additional interest if we now take 

 into consideration what are the characteristic peculiarities of the Chi- 

 ronectes. As its name indicates, it has fins like hands ; that is to say, 

 the pectoral fins are supported by a kind of prolonged wrist-like ap- 

 pendages, and the rays of the ventrals are not unlike rude fiugers. 

 "With these limbs these fishes have long been known to attach them- 

 selves to seaweed, and rather to walk than to swim in their natural 

 element. But now that we have become acquainted with their mode 

 of reproduction, it may fairly be asked if the most important use to 

 which their peculiarly constructed fins are put is not probably in 

 building their nest. — SilUman's American Journal, Feb. 1872. 



Morpliology of Carpellary Scales in Larix. By Thomas ^Ieehai^. 



The facts which I have from time to time contributed, verbally 

 or in papers, to the Academy, in regard to longitudinal series of 

 axillary buds and adnate and free leaves in Coniferous plants, 

 will, I believe, explain something of the structure of the flowers 

 of Coniferse, which, if not quite distinct from any view before taken, 

 wiU at least have reached the conclusion by an original line of 

 argument. 



I have shown that in the cases where there are longitudinal series 

 of buds, one of the buds, and generally the upper supraaxillary 

 one, is the largest. So far as this longitudinal series of buds is 

 concerned, I find by extensive observation that there are very 

 few of our American trees or shrubs which do not produce them 

 under some circumstances, although they are more generally ap- 

 parent in some than in others. In many cases they do not break 

 quite through the cortical layer, but continue to grow from year 

 to year, just as the wood grows, always remaining just under the 

 outer bark. It is from these concealed but living buds that the 

 flowers of the Cercis, or the spines of Gleditschia, wiU often appear 

 from trunks many years old. In Magnolia and Liriodendron these 

 concealed buds are easily detected by a thin shave of the outer bark 

 with a sharp knife. In very vigoroiis shoots of the latter, a series 

 of two (one supraaxiUaiy) is not rarely found prominently above 



