562 General Notes. [ September, 
flowers more or less destitute of a corolla; their fruits are nevertheless 
as perfect as, or even more perfect than, those which follow complete 
flowers. This phenomenon is observed frequently in autumn at the 
second blooming of violets; and the exotic species transplanted to our 
gardens have, under unfavorable conditions, apetalous flowers with de- 
formed essential organs, which nevertheless bear perfect fruit.” 
From Dr. Oliver’s review, previously referred to, we take the follow- 
ing notice of a work to which we do not have present access. M. Mon- 
nier, of Nancy (Guillemin’s Archives de Botanique, 1833), says that none 
of the early spring flowers of Viola hirta bear fruit. “ After the first flow- 
ering the leaves take on a further development: they become hairy, and 
bear in their axils flowers destitute of a corolla and with the five stamens 
almost always distinct and shorter than the ovary. The peduncles bear- 
ing these flowers curve downwards and bury the ovaries under the sur- 
face of the soil, where the seeds are ripened.” 
In a review given at second hand in Botanische Zeitung for Novem- 
ber, 1854, are some quotations from a memoir by Timbal-Lagrave (On 
the Genus Viola, 1853): “It is the custom in botany to examine a plant 
when it is grown, that is, when it has completed its development or has 
reached the climax of its vegetation and is in flower. This usage, well 
enough for most cases, is faulty when it is applied to the section Nomin- 
tum of Viola. It has here led botanists into errors and doubts, which 
have rendered the study of this section a matter of great difficulty. The 
period of early blossoms in Viola is the youth of the plant; its old age is 
another epoch in its development which was unknown to the older 
botanists, and herein lies the ground of the difficulties. . . - - In the 
stemless violets the following facts can be observed: in early spring 4 
few leaves appear, and these develop until April; then come the blos- 
soms with richly colored petals, and often with some fragrance, but these 
flowers, although provided with essential organs, are infertile. At first 
I believed that this anomaly is dependent on some modification of the 
stigma, or caused by some atmospheric influence, but I am now convin 
that it arises from the lack of pollen in the anthers ; fertilization cannot 
take place; the flower soon fades, dries up, or decays without any result. 
“In this period, which I call youth, a new growth takes place: from the 
cluster of persistent radical leaves accompanying the first flowers new 
leaves arise, which soon become large and acquire firmness, having even 
larger and stiffer hairs. Towards the end of May and June new nee 
come up, but they are very different from the first. In some species 
blossoms have no petals, in others only one or two, but these are always 
inclosed in the calyx and are frequently the merest rudiments. The 
whole floral apparatus is modified, and yet fertilization takes place. » + y 
A comparative study of the different organs of the first and second mE 
ers of these plants, the growth or the abortion of this or that part, 
position, the duration, and the funciions, afford many essential characters 
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