134 president's addeess. 



and in Saxifraga granulata. By-the-bye how curiously per- 

 sistent is the dual character throughout nature ! Only about 

 fifteen smooth ovals and three prickly out of my 194 were with- 

 out this cleft clearly marked, whilst only eight out of the 9 1 

 spheres and discs exhibited it. Seven kinds of pollen, besides 

 exhibiting this median cleft, have another at right angles, which 

 imparts a cruciform character to the grains, but as these are all 

 squares or rectangles they are probably compound, as AnthylUs 

 vulneraria. Another group of cruciform grains is well repre- 

 sented by Epilohium angiistifolium. 



The commonest decorations are, first, longitudinal ridges and 

 striae, strings of beads or pores, broad bars and grooves, and in a 

 few still broader bands and furrows. Sometimes these markings 

 run transversely or diagonally, but in both cases their proportion 

 is only six to 34 ; second, the whole surface is covered with 

 small pits or granules, or with broad pits parted by ramparts 

 which are often overflown by the granular markings, showing 

 that the hollows are thinings, not orifices. Amongst the first 

 may be noticed the longitudinal wavy strise of Pentstemon, the 

 concentric wavy lines of Fragaria vesca, the slashes of Galium 

 cruciatum, the clear transverse striae of RMnanthu^ Crista-galU, 

 the transverse concentric bands of Crocus aureus , the fine annular 

 strise of Saxifraga umbrosa, and the still more beautiful annular 

 markings of Epilohium angustifoUum . The barred and banded 

 groups find good representatives in Persicaria Ustorta, Poly gala 

 vulgaris^ Symphytum officinale, and the Asperulas, whilst the tes- 

 seree-like jacket of Lysimachia nemorum, and the prickly ridges 

 of Aster alpinus command attention, as do stiU more urgently 

 the lovely grains of Salvia pratensis and Fuschia fulgens. 



Prom the pitted group may be quoted Trifolium pratmse and 

 Impatiens, as exhibiting large pores ; Pelargonium, large circular 

 pits with dots all over, giving a tesselated character ; Fleur-de- 

 lis, large irregular pits ; HemerocalUs flava, Agapanthus umlel- 

 latiis and Amaryllis Sarnensis, fine polygonal pits, the last show- 

 ing bright centres with dark ramparts. Lilium martagon shows 

 circular walled pits like the craters on the moon, but perhaps the 

 most beautiful are Liliuin candidum, L. bulhiferum, and Armeria 



