140 CASSIA NICTITANS. WILD SENSITIVE PEA. 



plant yields seeds very abundandy ; almost every fiovver produces 

 a perfect seed-vessel. In the 3d Vol. of the " Botanical Gazette" 

 a correspondent refers especially to the ease with which this 

 species produces seed-vessels. The plant is an annual, and is 

 usually dead, or nearly so, before October. In the correspondent's 

 case the plants had been mown off in the summer, and as is usual 

 with annuals under such circumstances, had its life prolonged in 

 consequence. Instead of being nearly dry, these October plants 

 were blooming freely, but without petals in most cases. The few 

 which had petals, never developed beyond the calyx, which kept 

 them closed. But the stigmas protruded through the closed mass 

 of petals, evidently without receiving any pollen on their stigmatic 

 surfaces. Still they produced full-sized capsules, though with no 

 perfect seed in them. The case is worthy of further investiga- 

 tion. 



