Miscellaneous. 213 



an elevation of 50 feet. This species is almost identical with Gam- 

 marus murinus, from which it differs only in a clothing of hairs like 

 that of other lacustrine species. 



The second species belongs to the genus Orchestra (0. cavimana). 

 It was found in great abundance by !M. Kotschy in Cyprus, upon 

 Mount Olympus, at an altitude of 4000 feet. It lives in moist 

 places, in the vicinity of a spring. This species ai)pears to differ 

 from 0. Montagui only by insignificant characters, such as a some- 

 what smaller size and a darker colour. — Siebold 4' KoUik-ej-'s Zeit- 

 schrift, xix. p. loG ; Bibl. Univ. xxxv. June 15, 1869, Bull. iSci. 

 pp. 158-100. 



On the Leaves of Coniferct. 

 By Thomas Meehan, of Germantown, Pennsylvania. 



Botanists can scarcely have overlooked the fact that the true 

 leaves of Pinus consist of bud-scales, and that what arc known as 

 leaves, and what Dr. Engelmann (Gray's Manual, 5th edition, p. 409) 

 calls " secondary leaves " are but phylloid shoots ; but I have failed 

 to find any specific reference to the fact in botanical works. Dr. 

 Dickson, however, in a paper " On the Phylloid Shoots of Sciado- 

 pitys verticilhita" (Proceedings of Botanical Congress, 1866, p. 1-4), 

 remarks, " In Sciadopiti/s I have to call attention to the fact that 

 the leaves of the growing shoots consist, as in Pimis, entirel)- of bud- 

 scales." One would suppose, from this incidental reference to Pinus, 

 that he was acquainted with the fact that the so-called leaves of 

 Pinus were phylloid shoots ; but as the object of the paper is to sliow 

 that the so-called leaves of Sciadopifi/s are not true leaves, and as 

 any one must know that they arc not if already cognizant of the 

 fact in Pinus, we may take it for granted that at any rate, if not 

 entirely overlooked, little thought has been given it. I believe I 

 am occupying an entirely original field in pointing out the true 

 nature of leaves in Coniferce, and that the increased knowledge will 

 have an important bearing on many obscure points in their study. 



Dr. Dickson uses but the language of general botanj- when he de- 

 scribes the true leaves of Pinus as " bud-scales," meaning thereby the 

 scaly free portion just under the "secondary leaves" of Engelmann, 

 and sometimes forming sheatlis around them. But these free scales are 

 scarcely leaves. The chief portion of the true leaves in most plants 

 of the order are adnate Avitli the stem ; sometimes they have the 

 power to develope into scaly points, at others into fohaceous tips, 

 and at other times arc without any power but to preserve their true 

 leaf-like character. Larix affords the best illustration. The true 

 leaves are linear-spathulate, entirely adnate to the stem. There are 

 two kinds of stem-growth in Larix : in (he one case the axis elon- 

 gates and forms shoots ; in the other, axial development is arrested 

 and spurs are formed. On the elongated shoots the leaves are scat- 

 tered ; on the spurs they arc arranged in whorls. The power of 

 elongation possessed by the shoot is imparted to the leaves wliich 

 are adherent to it, and tliey produce green foliaceous awl-like tips ; 

 the power of elongation which the spiu's have lost is also measurably 



