1882.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



with gentle heat the object is cleared 

 so that the cells are well seen. The 

 cells of the outer surface have now the 

 appearance of thick-walled cells of 

 considerable depth (fig. 9), and the 

 underlying cells can be made out as 

 compressed, polygonal cells, some- 

 what larger than those of the outer- 

 layer, in several layers, with some 

 granular contents still remaining and 

 all having a deep-yellow color bor- 

 dering on light-red. 



The appearance of the inner sur- 

 face is considerably changed by pot- 

 ash, the cell-walls being rendered in- 

 distinct in places, and the surface 

 having a puckered and puffed ap- 

 pearance (fig. 10). A piece of the 

 pod, macerated over night in potash- 

 solution, becomes softened and swoll- 

 en and is thus readily teazed out 

 into separate elements. The cells of 

 the substance of the pod, separated 

 after maceration in potash, are shown 

 in fig. 12 a; the cell-contents are 

 greenish-yellow in color. 



Upon cutting a thin, transverse 

 section of the dry pod and examining 



it in water by one-inch objective, the 

 ridges of the inner surface are seen 

 to be hollow, like blisters, of a shining 

 yellow color, and only attached to 

 the substance of the pod at their 

 edges; some are loosely filled with a 

 colorless matter having the appear- 

 ance of empty, collapsed pulp-cells, 

 while some are quite empty (fig. 13 a). 

 A clear, thin membrane lines the 

 pulp-cells under the raised inner 

 ridges (fig. 13 b^. The substance of 

 the pod is composed of small pulp- 

 cells, originally oblong or roundish, 

 now compressed by drying, and full 

 of a yellowish, finely granular cell- 

 contents having an oily appearance. 

 The pod is from eight to ten or more 

 cells in thickness, the layer of cells 

 on the outer surface being quite dis- 

 tinct from the interior layers. The 

 pulp-cells adjoining the space under 

 each of the raised ridges of the inner 

 surface of the pod are of a deeper, 

 somewhat reddish color, for a depth 

 of from three to seven cells, as indi- 

 cated by dotted lines in fig. 13, where 

 the pulp-cells are omitted from part 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATE I. 



Capsicum and Curcuma. 



Fig. 1. Sections of pod of West India cap- 

 sicum, natural size. 



Fig. 2. Seeds of same : a, natural size ; b, 

 treated with potash ; c, with nitric acid. 



Fig. 3. Inner surface of pod slightly mag- 

 nified ; a, section of same. 



Fig. 4. Outer surface of capsicum-pod X 73. 



Fig. 5. Inner surface of same, dry, X 73. 



Fig. 6. Capsicum-pod, untreated, in water, 

 X 73 ; b, oil globules. 



Fig. 7. Same, X 152. 



Fig. 8. Spiral vessels of pod, in water, X 73. 



Fig. 9. Outer surface of pod treated with 

 potash, X 152. 



Fig. 10. Inner surface treated with potash, 

 X 152. 



Fig. 11. Outer surface treated with nitric 

 acid, X 250. 



Fig. 12. Pulp-cells of the pod : a, treated 

 with potash, X 73 ; b, with acid, X 250. 



Fig. 13. Transverse section of pod, un- 

 treated, X 73 ; a, loose ridges ; b, membrane 

 of pulp ; c, cells of pulp. 



Fig. 14. Section of outer skin of pod treat- 

 ed with nitric acid, X 250. 



Fig. 15. Inner skin of pod treated with ni- 

 tric acid, X 250. 



Fig. 16. Transverse section of seed, un- 

 treated, X 73. 



Fig. 17. Surface of seed, showing shape of 

 pits in the surface, X 250. 



Fig. 18. Sections of shell and seed, X 250 : 



a, treated with potash ; b, with nitric acid. 

 Fig. 19. Thin membrane enveloping coty- 

 ledon of seed, X 250. 



Fig. 20. Section of cotyledon of seed treat- 

 ed with potash, X 250, showing also starch of 

 the seed, untreated, as seen by 1-inch, ^-inch 

 and ylfj-inch objectives. 



Fig. 21. Yellow starch-grains of turmeric, 

 X250. 



Fig. 22. Light-colored starch {a) and cells 

 of root-bark {b) of same, X 152. 



Fig. 23. Spiral vessels of turmeric-root, X 

 250. 



Fig. 24. Starch : a, of turmeric (?) ; b, of 

 rice ; c, of wheat found in ground turmeric, X 

 250. 



Fig. 25. Scales of vegetable substance 

 found in ground turmeric, X 152. 



Fig. 26. Cellular tissue of turmeric with 

 starch-grains, X 152. 



Fig. 27. A, the yellow starch (Fig. 21), 



b, the white starch (Fig. 24 a) of turmeric 

 treated with potash, X 152. 



Fig. 28. Masses of earthy adulterants soft- 

 ened by water, X 250. 



