THE SPECIES OF FICUS. 219 
practical use of his book. He certainly seems to have spared no 
pains in examining the types of the various species in European 
herbaria, and he has enjoyed, as he himself admits, the special 
paaadtage. of working on living material. The summary of 
communication by the same author to the Linnean Rociety, given 
is hardly necessary to recall the fact that the sexual reproduction 
of figs has engaged the attention of various botanists, among whom 
on ? 
that the sexual organs present a considerable variety of modifications 
the 
and combinations. Upon these modifcations Dr. King bases his 
i arrange 
sented, even in some authoritative text-boo ‘Ss of the most bie 
fertile female flowers are borne in separate ASR at and in 
many species on separate plants. The male flowers of such species 
appear in another set of receptacles ; ; and invariably associated wi 
pe and usually occupy e space in "thie rec Sacks ex ers 
ing 
zone immediately within the bracts at the apex, are numerou 
ae female or “ gall-flowers,’’ which, in connection wi pai 
insects, play an important part in the process of fertilisation of the 
pay Aim of Dr. King’s classification yeni are ay 
divided into two n seutnte very unequa ual groups. he first, 
called Paleomorphe, she ee the author belioved they exhibit the 
y 
flowers. That is to say, the Sw snhiaiane male Pa 
also contain a gall-pistil; and separate gall-flowers occupy the 
same receptacles, while the perfect female flowers exclusively 
occupy other receptacles.t The gall and perfect female flowers 
* The cultivated fig of this country is the female of a dicecious species, of 
which the caprifig of the South of Europe is the male. 
fficiently examined Dr. 
on wins silent oy be aot - shee these two nae: ot receptacle are baad on the 
same or separate plawasy: 
hink, he aks <otble to us 1 4 
here it would have been more intelligible to employ terms unisexual and 
vaeahdime dey restricting the former terms to their legitimate application. 
