317 



which, in the accompanying magnified views, is seen closely to re- 

 semble a four-leaved calyx. Another point in which the fossil differs 

 from Typha is that on the stem, about an incb below the catkin, we 

 observe a scar apparently indicating the spot whence a leaf or spatha 

 had fallen, or where a branch had been broken off ; now there is no- 

 thing of this kind in Typha. It therefore became necessary to seek 

 in some other genus for the living analogues of this fossil, and these 

 are apparently furnished by several species of Pothos, a genus belong- 

 ing to the natural order Aroideae, and characterized by having a one- 

 leaved spatha, and a simple cylindrical spadix covered with flowers, 

 which have a four-leaved calyx, no corolla, four stamina, and bear a 

 4-seeded berry. These characters will be found to apply nearly to 

 the fossil, making allowance for " the compression it has undergone, 

 and the change of appearance produced by its mineralization." 



" The greatest number of the species of the genus Pothos are parasitic, and inhabit 

 the vast forests of tropical countries. In some of the species, also, there are truncated 

 fleshy scales on each side of the germeu, and which, in the young state, completely 

 cover the male organs of the plant ; these are especially conspicuous in P. acaulis. — 

 The similarity of the habitats also favours the idea of its belonging to this class of 

 plants." — p. 51. 



The author enters at some length on the mode in which the differ- 

 ent carboniferous strata have been deposited, and explains the process 

 of formation of fossil fuel in the present era, as observed by travellers 

 in America. 



VII. Extracts from the Minute- Book of the Botanical Society , from Novem- 

 ber 1839 to July, 1840. 



1839, December 12. Read, Extracts from a Letter addressed to Dr. 

 Greville, from R. J. Shuttleworth, Esq., Berne, dated 11th September, 

 1839, containing " Observations on Diatomaceae." After some obser- 

 vations on Gomphonema, Meridion, Diatoma, &c., the author says — 



" I have no doubt as to the non-animal nature of these and analogous genera ; for 

 though I have examined, I may say, tens of thousands of individuals of most of them, 

 I have never observed the slightest trace oi spontaneous motion or action. The motion 

 of Oscillatoria is perfectly mechanical, caused by the rapid development of each suc- 

 cessive cell or joint; and an analogous motion, though merely caused by separation of 

 each joint, is common in Diatoma." — p. 53. 



Mr. Shuttleworth passed " eight days on the Grimsel, the hospice 

 of which is 6400 feet, or thereabouts, above the level of the sea ; " he 

 wished to ascertain if Diatomeee exist in the alpine waters, which are 

 scarcely above the freezing point. 



