24 Mr. T. Hick and Mr. J. Lomax on 



to be prosenchymatous, so that their function was probably 

 mechanical {Fig. <?, a). The inner cortex is made up of 

 larger and thin-walled cells, and at certain points there are 

 unmistakable evidences of the presence of canals or much 

 elongated cells, in some of which are black carbonaceus 

 contents similar to those met with in the young stems of 

 ArtJiropitys and the sterile bracts of CalamostacliysBinneyana 

 {Fig. 2, e). At the sterile nodes the cortex is continued into 

 the bracts in a way which will be described in dealing 

 with the latter structures. Unfortunately these details 

 cannot be illustrated by a figure, as they have been made 

 out piece-meal from an examination of the cortex of both 

 specimens, and are nowhere met with in combination. 



The Sterile Bracts. 



The members of the successive whorls of sterile bracts 

 appear to have been superposed and not alternate. This is 

 inferred from the fact that on one side of the spike the 

 section has passed through five bracts in succession, and on 

 the other side two successive bracts are superposed in two 

 places. 



The bracts stand out from the axis at nearly a right 

 angle — having an extremely slight inclination upwards — 

 for about three millimetres, and then turn upwards 

 so abruptly that the limb is approximately parallel 

 to the axis. The only evidence as to the presence or 

 absence of cohesion at the base of the bracts is presented 

 by the uppermost part of the section, which is tangential. It 

 is not conclusive on the point, but it certainly proves that if 

 cohesion does occur, it is restricted to the immediate 

 neighbourhood of the axis, a conclusion, likewise, suggested 

 by the second section. 



As to the structure and form of the base of the bracts, 

 little that is definite can be made out. The upper part 

 would seem to consist of narrow, elongated, sclerenchymatous 



