July 20. 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



549 



yariations of the flax plla-nt with locality ; 

 Mr. A. Compton, of the PaiSteur Institute, 

 will giv^ ail account of some of tiie recent 

 Prench work on plants,and Prof. Keeible and 

 Dr. E. F. Armstrong will deal with plant 

 pigmentation. Numerous excursions have, 

 as usualj Ibeen arranged, and the botanists 

 will pay a visit to Clova and Glen Mt>k for 

 the purpose of studying the Alpine llora 

 associated with the name of Geon^e Don. 

 Garden parties will be given by Lord Moray 

 at Kinfauns Castle, Lord St rath more at 

 Giamis Castle, Lord Camperdown, Caniper- 

 dowix House, and Lord Kinnaird at Rc'ssie 

 Priory. 



Mr. Lewis Smith.—The high posi- 

 tion to which hardy flowers have attained, 

 both in the garden and at the exhibition, 

 had further proof at the recent exhibition 

 of the Norwich Horticultural Society, when 



CELL GROWTH. 



To anyone who devotes a little study and 

 thought to the matter the fact must appeal 

 with reverential forcefulness that every liv- 

 ing thing we see, whether plant or animal, 

 microscopically minute or comparatively 

 gigantically large, not only commences its 

 existence as a tiny little sac, cont^iining a 

 tiny quantity of liquid, -which sacs are 

 practically indistinguishable as to form 

 and composition, but is also eventually con- 

 structed entirely by a succession of such 

 cells. From the bacterium to the whale or 

 the colossal redwood trees of Colorado is 

 this the case, as well as with all the infi- 

 nitely diverse forms of life which lie be- 

 tween these dimensional extremes as plants 

 or animals. Furthermore, if we take intel- 

 ligent stock of our surroundings we shall 



1 o a 1 1 v t h i n p; at a 11 , un less w it h in it 



ned some impulsive and direct- 

 ing power. Neither the skin or the jelly 

 possesses such power, but within the latter 

 there is always, in a living, active cell, a 

 truly wonderful little body, a bundle of 

 fibres, called the nucleus, and it is in this 

 that the life principle lies which eventually 

 determines, guides, and controls all the 

 future operations which result in the pro- 

 duction of a new organism. Such a 

 ''nucleus'' is in tlie cell enclosed in the 

 spore husk, and it is this which, on the 

 liberation of the cell, immediately sets to 

 work to perform its functions. The observa- 

 tion of this stage is probably beyond the 

 scope of the lay or unscientific observer, 

 but it may be taken for granted as being 

 of the following nature. The nucleus" 

 in the primary spore cell consists, as we 



CATTLE Y 



WAKSCEWICZI ALBA, VAR. FIRMIN 



AMBEAU 



Flowers pure white, with lemon-yellow throat to the lip. F.C.C., R.H.S., July 15. 



Lam beau 



our able contributoi 

 Shotesh 



Mr. Lewis Smith, of 

 Park, Norwich, was awarded for 

 his fine collection of hardy flowers the Royal 

 Horticultural Society's silver medal which 

 was offered for the best exhibit in the show. 

 This is not the first time by many that he 

 has obtained distinction, for in 1910 he was 

 awarded at Norwich a similar medal of the 

 R.H.S., also offered for the best exhibit, for 

 hardy flowers. At the spring show at Nor- 

 wich in April last he obtained the R.H.S. 

 silver medal for the best exhibit for a fine 

 collection of orchids. He has also obtained 

 wh distinction as a cultivator and e^xhibi- 

 tor of fruits. We learn that Mr. Lewis 

 Smith, who has been head gardener at 

 Shotesham Park Gardens during the past 

 eleven years, has resigned ihis charge, and 

 will leave early in August. He should not 

 be long in finding further opportunities for 

 the exercise of <his abilities. 



find that the vast majority of the sub- 

 stances with which we deal are derived 

 from organic sources, and hence have been 

 built up at some period, remote or recent, 

 hy the operation of these little constructive 



sacs or cells. 



Probably, to the lay observer, the fern 

 spore presents one of the easiest objects by 

 means of which we may be better enabled 

 to grasp from start to finish the nature of 

 the work of which a simple cell is <^apable. 

 The spore is merely such a cell protected by 

 a shell, and with a microscope of moderate 

 power it is fairly easy to watch its opera- 

 tions from the moment when, under the 

 influence of moisture and warmth, it swells 

 and hursts this shell and emerges to the 

 light No sooner does this occur than a 

 very wonderful process hegins, to under- 

 stand which we must for a minute or two 

 consider that no mere sac of jelly could 



own. 



have said, of a minute fihrous bundle. This 

 unravels itself, so to speak, and its com- 

 ponent fibres split up and arrange them- 

 selves into two groups. These two groups 

 separate themselves, and between them, by 

 some inconceivably subtle influence a thin 

 wall is formed, dividing the cell into practi- 

 cally two, each one now with a nucleus of its 



The second cell thus engendered in- 

 creases in size, and again the nucleus 

 divides, another dividing wall is created, 

 and so on, until a little chain of cells is 

 seen with the spore husk at one end. 



No building can continue without build- 

 ing materials ; and it will soon be seen that 

 from the tiny chain of cells, minute hair- 

 like rootlets have protruded, anchoring the 

 incipient prothallus " to the soil, and 

 providing it with material from that sod 

 in the shape of water and earthy salts, while 

 j-T ic nK<n.rhinir the carbonic 



