XX PBEPACE. 



Cyclamen) are kept cool and moist by being laid 

 on the ground; they thus mature more slowly and 

 are enabled to grow to a larger size. In this 

 simple action we probably see the first step to the 

 further development of the process, and to the capsules 

 burying themselves beneath the surface. In some 

 cases the difference between the subaerial and sub- 

 terranean pods on the same plant and both produced by 

 cleistogamic flowers is extraordinary : Mr. Meehan sent 

 me three subterranean pods of Am^Mcwrpeea monoica, 

 each containing a single large seed ; and my own 

 plants produced several subaerial pods, each containing 

 from one to three small seeds. These latter weighed 

 on an average only yig- of the subterranean seeds! 

 This difference, however, is not quite accurate, as the 

 coats of the subterranean pods 'adhered so firmly to the 

 seeds that they were not removed and were weighed 

 with them ; but from their thinness and lightness 

 they could not have much affected the result. 



