398 Miscellaneous. 



The apple and pear trees generally begin to lose their leaves in 

 December. They come into flower, at Funchal, by the 7th of April, 

 and their fruit is collected in August. There are, however, varieties of 

 apple and pear trees which flow^er and produce fruit twice in the year, 

 and one variety of apple is perpetually in flower and fruit. The 

 peach-trees about the 4th of November already exhibit some flowers 

 amongst their leaves ; they then, to the great astonishment ofM. 

 Heer, continued blossoming in abundance during the months of De- 

 cember and January, and the fruit came to maturity from the 23rd of 

 February to the end of the summer. In February there were flowers 

 on the upper parts of the trees and fruit below, and it was also then 

 the leaves were renewed, the interval between the falling and shooting 

 of the leaves being scarcely sensible. The vines around Funchal begiin 

 to lose their leaves about the 24th of October. The soil of the vino 

 yards in winter offered the singular appearance of being covered with 

 the flowers of Oxalis speciosa (a Cape plant) and of Calendnla 

 arvensis. New leaves appeared by the end of March, and by the 8th of 

 April the vines were completely in leaf, with yoiuig floral grapes. 

 The flowers open at the end of April and the beginning of May, and 

 the vintage takes place in September. The repose lasts 157 days. — 

 A. DeCandolle in Bibl. Univ. de Geneve, Aout 1852, p. 325. 



COLYMBUS SEPTENTUIONALIS. 



To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. 



The Willows, Swansea, Oct. 2, 1852. 



Gentlemen, — On the 30th of September, CoJymhus septentrio- 

 nalis, the Red-breasted Diver, was taken in one of the weirs in Swansea 

 Bay. Only two of these birds have been noted here previously, and 

 as far as I can ascertain, both of them were killed in the winter. The 

 very early advent of this native of the north is my reason for thinking 

 that you may wish to insert the above notice. 



Your obedient servant, 



Matthew Moggridgk. 



On the Structure of the Stem of Victoria Regia. 

 By Arthur IIenfrey, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c. 



Tlie investigation of the anatomy of Victoria regia acquires its 

 interest from the fact of the relations which have been pointed out 

 to exist between the Nymphseacese and some of the undoubted 

 Monocotyledonous families, especially also from the researches of 

 M. Trecul on the anatomy oi Nvphar lutea, which plant that author 

 describes as having a stem of the Monocotyledonous tyj)e of struc- 

 ture. Through the unfortunate death of the plant of Victoria regia, 

 which had flowered for some time in the gardens of the Hoyal 

 Botanic Society of London, the author had an opportunity of ex- 

 amining the anatomy of its stem. It is an u])right rhizome, with 

 undeveloped internodes, growing by a single terminal bud, appa- 

 rently perennially, and attaining considerable thickness ; on the out- 

 side it bears the remains of the petioles ond flower- stalks,, wliich 



