601 



"form," and this latter, perhaps, is the least commendable portion of 

 our author's labours ; in fact, a well digested arrangement and nomen- 

 clature of the diversified forms in this beautiful portion of every plant 

 is still a desideratum in botanical science : we consider few botanists 

 of the present day capable of undertaking the task and accomplish- 

 ing it to general satisfaction ; indeed, only one who could combine 

 the needful qualities of knowledge, industry and judgment; and that 

 one is Mr. Woods : he possesses an intimate knowledge of all that 

 has been done, industry sufficient to collect it, and judgment suffi- 

 cient to classify and arrange. Much that is useless and tautological 

 has to be rejected ; uniformity and simplicity must be kept in view. 

 It is tine that Mr. Henfrey makes no attempt beyond that of giving a 

 superficial view of the commonly received nomenclature, and even in 

 this he has not fully succeeded. 



The description of the leaves of Acotyledons, Monocotyledons and 

 Dicotyledons presents nothing new or worthy of comment, but on the 

 subject of " Arrangement of Leaves" we have some useful generaliza- 

 tions. 



" In stems where the leaves arise one after another with the inter- 

 position of a certain length of the axis between them, the leaves are 

 called alternate, and this, the commonest condition, offers the most 

 favourable opportunity of detecting the spiral arrangement. 



" Alternate leaves are rarely placed exactly upon opposite sides of 

 the stem ; the second leaf will be found to arise rather on one side of 

 the point above and opposite the first, and the third on one side of a 

 line perpendicular to the first. In the apple the sixth leaf comes to 

 be directly over the first, and a line drawn round the stem connect- 

 ing all their bases will be found to be a simple spiral passing twice 

 round the stem. The point where a leaf is found coinciding perpen- 

 dicularly with the first, indicates the completion of a series or ci/cle, 

 and thus in the apple the cycles are series of fives. Carrying the 

 examination further up, we shall find the seventh leaf over the second, 

 the eighth over the third, &c., until we reach the eleventh over the 

 first and sixth, completing a second cycle. 



" This arrangement in cycles of fives is that most common in Dicoty- 

 ledons, but others also occur. The lime presents a very simple con- 

 dition. Here the second leaf is directly opposite, and the third di- 

 rectly over the first ; the latter completing one spire and being the 

 point where the second commences. This arrangement, which is call- 

 ed distichous, is found in many Monocotyledons, but spires contain- 



