1064 



since both conditions can exist on one root, at the same time, such a 

 distinction would be quite inadmissible for a specific character. 



A stem of Hieracium Lawsoni, which had borne twenty flowers in 

 Mr. W.'s garden, this spring ; and others had flowered more numer- 

 ously than this one. In the wild state, on the Grampians (the locality 

 from which the plants were brought three years ago), this species has 

 usually two, three, or four flowers only. He had seen a wild Irish 

 specimen with six or eight flowers. No care had been bestowed upon 

 the plants in his garden, except occasional watering in dry weather, 

 and removal of weeds from about them. Mr. W. sent the specimen 

 merely as an example of the little dependence to be placed upon the 

 number of flowers on the Hieracia; indeed among the Compositae ge- 

 nerally. A wild plant, growing free from the interference of other 

 plants about it, might also increase its flowers five or ten fold, as prac- 

 tical botanists must be well aware, from observation. 



Read, " A Synoptical View of the British Fruticose Rubi, arranged 

 in Groups, with explanatory remarks," (part 4); by Edwin Lees, Esq. 

 F.L.S. The paper was accompanied by drawings and specimens. — 

 G. E. D. 



MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



June 19, 1844. Dr. J. S. Goodfellow in the chair. 



A paper was read by Edwin J. Quekett, Esq., On an apparently 

 new form of vegetable discharged from the human stomach, belong- 

 ing to the class Algae. Mr. Quekett, after noticing numerous instan- 

 ces where parasitical plants have been found on the exteiior of man, 

 as well as of the lower animals, where they constitute diseases which 

 often cause the death of the creature so aflected, proceeded to describe 

 several instances where vegetation evidently existed in the interior of 

 the body, and in the stomach especially. In the case alluded to, con- 

 tinued sickness prevailed in a constitution much debilitated by dis- 

 ease of the liver, the matter ejected putting on the appearance of cof- 

 fee-coloured flakes in a transparent gelatinous fluid. On submitting 

 the flakes to the microscope, they appeared to consist solely of vesi- 

 cles of about the -j^Vo^ part of an inch in diameter, adhering to each 

 other in a beaded manner, seldom however extending beyond three or 

 four, or otherwise in a tetrahedral form. The vesicles appear to con- 

 tain granular matter, much resemblance existing between them and 

 the yeast-plant, Torula Cerevisiae, but not identical with each other. 



After some discussion as to the real nature of these bodies, the So- 

 ciety adjourned until October next. — J. W. 



