lowest leaf, which also is the first that crosses the preceding 

 ones, is presumably four-celled from the commencement. The 

 arrangements of structure, promiscuously mentioned by you, 

 of the narrower and wider partitions render it somewhat im- 

 probable for four, or two, separate organs, while presenting no 

 drfiiculty if viewed as parts of a single leaf. Tour ' remains 

 of seed ' is, according to my idea, nothing but the rudiment of 

 the internode preceding the ' germ leaf,' as I shall call the organ ; 

 the 'lid of the ovary,' probably but the point of disjointure, 

 by whose death the young plant becomes free. The ' floral 

 scale' is very probably but a first lamina, and perhaps also the 

 succeeding one, which certainly leaves horny remains. How 

 the following ones are circumstanced, which have already 

 dropped off the young plants, cannot be made out from the 

 material submitted ; probably they are leaf-like, though 

 smaller than their successors. A similar process occurs in the 

 formation of the fruit of a water plant appertaining to the 

 old world, Trapa oiatans. The fruit of this plant is built up 

 of four calyx cells ; along the midrib horny spikes become 

 free through decay of the external coverings, which remind 

 one of the arrow-barbs of savage tribes, and most likely also 

 bring about the anchoring of the fruit m the soft mud. 



" In respect of the rooting process, I had formed a similar 

 idea a year ago, agreeing closely with the facts observed by 

 you, as you would see from my letter to Baron E. von Mueller. 



" In the words you were good enough to cite from my former 

 letter an error is to be corrected, which has been doubtlessly 

 produced by my handwriting. You believed, no doubt in- 

 fluenced by your explanation of the process, that I also speak 

 of a pistil (German — Stempel ; see note) , while, in my case I 

 must have written stem ((xerman — Stengel)." 



Note by Mk. Tepper. — The contrary is the case, as I had 

 formed no explanation till I found in the expression stated 

 what I considered a key to the structure, but which now turns 

 out to have been a misapprehension occasioned by the learned 

 professor's handwriting, which is sometimes difiicult to read by 

 one not very familiar with it. 



