Dec. 1906.] 



505 



Miscellaneous, 



The care of pastures. Trin. Bull. 1902, p. 525. 

 Turl and Fodder grasses. Str. Bull. 1903, p. 273. 

 Die Viehmast in Costarica. Tropenpfl. 7. 1903, 471. 



Indian food grains and fodders, their chemical composition. Agr. Ledg. 



M. & C. Series, 16, 1903. 

 Jamaican fodders. Jam. Bull. I. 1903, p. 241, III. 209. 

 Saltbushes. Agr. Gaz. N. S. W. Mar. 1904, p. 211. 

 Fodder grasses for the tropics. "T. A." July 1904, p. 6. 

 Prickly Pear and Aloe as fodder for cattle. Iud. Agr. July 1904, 220. 

 Fodder and Lawn grasses suitable for cultivation in West Africa. Imp. 



Inst, Bull Mar, 1904, p. 39, 

 Paspalum dilatatum. Agr. Gaz, N. S. W. Oct. 1904, 938. 

 Further notes on West Indian fodder plants. W. I, Bull. V. 103. 

 The Conservation of fodder. Transvaal Agr. Journ. III. Oct. 1904, p. 32. 

 Poisonous fodder plants, Imp. Inst. Bull. I. 1903, 12, 112. 

 La tossicita dei Sorghi come foraggio fresco. Ann. di. Bot. I. 335. 



Lessons in Elementary Botany. VII. 



By J. C. Willis. 

 (Illustrated.) 



A very useful method of expressing many of the important features in the 

 structure of a flower is a Floral Diagram. It represents an imaginary section 

 through the bud, taken (if such were possible) so as to pass through the ovary and 

 anthers and through the parts of the perianth where the aestivation is most clearly 

 shown. With the exception of the hypogyny or epigyny, the diagram shows most 

 of the characters that are usually necessary for the identification of the natural 

 order to which the plant belongs, and is hence of much use in classification. A 

 number of diagrams are given on plate IV. and should be carefully compared with 

 actual flowers belonging to those orders. 



In drawing a diagram we put in at the top the original stem on which the 

 flower is a branch, and at the bottom the bract, to give the exact orientation of the 

 flower. Bracteoles if present are also put in. Then follow sepals, petals, stamen?! 

 and carpels in their exact relationship, as to position, overlapping (if any), cohesion 

 (if any, marked by loops joining the lines representing individual sepals &c,) adhesion 

 (if any), placentation, &c. 



Floral Formulae afford another convenient way of expressing many features 

 in flower construction. The calyx, corolla, androeceum and gynceceum are repre- 

 sented by K., C, A., G., respectively. After the letter follows the number of parts, 

 andif they be coherentit isenclosed in a bracket. Thus K. (5) means " Calyx of 5 sepals, 

 gamosepalous," A 3 means " androeceum of 3 stamens, polyandrous." If there are two 

 numbers with a + sign between them, it means two alternating whorls, e-g., A 3+3 

 means that the andrceceum is of 2 whorls of 3 stamens each. The ovary if superior 

 is represented by the symbol G, if inferior G 



12 floral diagrams of the commonest families of Ceylon upcountry plants are 

 given on plate IV., and should be carefully compared with actual flowers. 



NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FLOWER. 



Darwin showed that the offspring of cross-fertilisation, i-e. A x B (where A, B 

 are different plants) was in general superior to that of self-fertilisation (A x A) 

 and most plants make effort to get their flowers fertilised from another plant of the 

 same kind. 



W 



