141 



compound, corymbose, l^afij jyatiicle of deep yellow blossoms. It 

 appears to flower several weeks earlier than H. crocatum, along with 

 which it grows in Teesdale." 



The observations on the other plants are not of equal interest; and 

 lest some of my readers should think for a moment that I have ex- 

 tracted somewhat largely from Mr. Backhouse's valuable paper, I beg 

 to state that I have done so with that gentleman's express permission 

 and approbation. 



Mr. Townshend's monstrosity of Daucus Carota is very interesting. 

 The mode of aberration is detailed in the following paragraph : — 



" When in the island of Guernsey, in the month of September, 1850, 

 I picked a curious monstrosity of Daucus Carota, which may, I think, 

 throw some light upon the structure of plants of the Umbelliferous 

 family. In this specimen nearly all the flowers of the outer whorls of 

 the umbellules had their carpels lengthened into two free lanceolate- 

 acuminate leaves, with their margins turned inwards, and tipped with 

 a development of colourless cellular tissue, representing the style and 

 stigma. Each leaf bore' on its alternate edge a single ovule, attached 

 by a lengthened funiculus proceeding from an evident development of 

 cellular tissue (marginal placenta). In some cases there were four 

 ovules, two on each carpel. The ovules were sometimes represented 

 by perfect leaves with a central nerve. The stylopodiura had entirely 

 disappeared, except in one instance, where the true nature of this 

 glandular process was shown by its being represented by a thickening 

 of the sides of one of the styles. The stamens were perfect; the 

 petals were very irregular, and many of a green colour, forming obo- 

 vate, acute, irregularly lobed leaves." 



Under the head ' Literature' the following periodicals are noticed : — 

 'Annals of Natural History,' Hooker's 'Journal of Botany,' 'The 

 Phytologist,' ' Annales des Sciences Naturelles.' Report of Botanical 

 Society of Edinburgh. I may perhaps be pardoned for remarking 

 that the editor, in compressing the long list of contents of the March 

 ' Phytologist' into seven lines (which feat, incredible as it may appear, 

 he has achieved), has made some curious cross-readings, such for 

 instance as attributing Mr. Lees's caustic remarks on the ' starred 

 plants' of Hooker and Arnott to our esteemed friend George Stacey 

 Gibson. 



Under the head ' Miscellanea' Mr. Babington corrects an error in 

 a former number as regards the specific name of a Potamogeton from 

 Buttermere. P. fluitans should be P. lanceolatus. Mr. Babington 

 thinks P. fluitans has not been found in Britain. Mr. Purchas re- 



