TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 97 
Carboniferous rocks which curves round the eastern end of the chain, was alluded 
to; and the circumstance of the occurrence of beds of sandstone interstratified in the 
limestone portion of the horizontal group was given as an instance of the splittin 
up of the Carboniferous formation into alternations of numerous arenaceous an 
calcareous strata, as observed in the northern parts of the British Isles. The 
limestone was stated to be traversed by greenstone trap-dykes, and metalliferous 
mineral deposits were stated to occur at Lurganboy, King’s Mountain, &c. 
In conclusion, the drift was alluded to, and sea-shells were stated to have been 
found therein, in one place at a considerable depth, and at a distance of two miles 
from the sea; and the horns and skulls, &c., of deer and other extinct animals were 
mentioned as overlying this deposit, or being just within it. The paper was illus- 
trated by drawings of different portions of the country, and a list of the fossils sent 
for determination to W. H. Baily, F.G.S., was appended. 
ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, tnctuptine PHYSIOLOGY. 
Borany. 
On the Ennobling of Roots, with particular reference to the Parsnip. 
By James Buckman, F.L.S., F.GS., Se. 
The author, in this paper, explained the processes which he had adopted to convert 
the woody-branched root of the wild parsnip into the smooth, succulent, fusiform 
root of the esculent parsnip. 
The growth of wild seed was commenced in 1847, in prepared garden-ground, 
and roots carefully selected and transplanted for the next generation, and so on, 
selecting roots for seeding until the desired form was attained. This new variety 
of parsnip is now well known to the gardener under the name of the Student 
Parsnip*. The author concludes that his experiments with parsnips sufficiently 
show that this esculent, as well as the carrot, beet, turnip, &c., have nowhere in 
the wild state that large, fleshy, smooth appearance which belongs to their cul- 
tivated forms; and hence, that all the varieties of these that we meet with in 
cultivation must be considered as derivatives from original wild forms, attained by 
cultivative processes. 
He states that the facility with which new sorts can be induced, and the con- 
stancy with which they are maintained, under great diversities of soil, climate, and 
treatment, are evidences of the derivative or ennobled nature of our crop plants, 
which are indeed maintained by the very changes to which their aboriginals have 
been subjected. 
Experiments with Seed of Malformed Roots. 
By James Buckman, F.L.S., F.GS., Se. 
In this paper it was shown, as the result of direct experiment, that seed derived 
from malformed, z.e. misshapen, crop-roots of both turnips and parsnips resulted 
in even greater deformities than those presented by the parent. 
Thus, a much-forked root of parsnip and another of a swede were selected for 
seeding, the produce of each being sown in plots side by side with that of good 
roots, the result of which was that in both instances the bad seed produced only 
about half the weight of the good, and all the examples of roots from the bad seed 
were misshapen in a most extraordinary manner. 
From these experiments the author draws the following conclusions :— 
1. That a degenerate progeny will, as a rule, result from the employment of 
degenerate or badly-grown seed. 
. That, besides ugly, malformed roots, degenerate seed does not produce nearly 
the weight of crop of good seed under the same circumstances of growth. 
* It gained the first prize at the International Show at the Horticultural Society for 1862. 
7 
