CARPEL AND OVULES. 129 



CARPEL AND OVULES. 



IV. The following preparations must be made from 

 materials hardened in absolute alcohol (or methylated 

 spirit) : 



Strip off the sepals, petals and stamens from an open 

 bud of Helleborus fcetidus, and cut transverse sections 

 of the Carpels. Treat the sections with one half pure 

 glycerine, one half alcohol, and let the alcohol evaporate 

 gradually. Mount in pure glycerine. 



Strasburger recommends that tlie transfer to pure glycerine 

 should be made before the sections are cut. 



Examine first with a low power, and observe 



1. The Carpel, having a structure not unlike that 

 of an ordinary leaf. Note the suture or junction of 

 the two margins of the carpel which thus incloses a 

 central cavity. 



2. The Ovules (Macrosporangia) seated in this 

 cavity, and attached near the margins of the carpel (it 

 has already been noted that there are two rows of 

 ovules in each carpel, therefore at most only two ovules 

 appear in each section). 



The form of the ovule is anatropous ; it consists of 

 the following parts : 



(a) The Funiculus, or stalk, which adheres through 

 the greater part of its course (as the Raphe) to the 

 body of the inverted ovule. A procambium bundle, 

 connected with a bundle at the margin of the carpel, 

 traverses it longitudinally. 



The body of the inverted ovule consists of 



K 



