218 Mr John Scott on the Sexual Changes 



retaining their normal characters, continue to produce the 

 racemose male spikelets. In the majority of the secondary 

 axes, however, the basal spikelets are nearly all aborted ; 

 whereas this portion of the primary axis is covered with 

 perfect male spikelets, which, as they extend upwards, are 

 abruptly metamorphosed into a short terminal spike of 

 female florets. These, like those on the secondary axes, 

 are all very imperfect, the ovary and style existing in a 

 more or less rudimentary condition, and occasionally pre- 

 senting the rudiments of one or two hypogynous stamens. 



Hitherto our remarks have been chiefly confined to a 

 mere description of the sexual metamorphoses in the florets 

 of maize, though I have more than once alluded to their 

 possible connection with, and elucidation of, certain highly 

 important points in theoretical natural science. For the 

 sake of clearness in the exposition of the theoretical bear- 

 ings of these metamorphoses, I will now give a brief resume 

 of the foregoing illustrations. First, then, we have stated 

 that the inflorescence is normally unisexual — the female 

 florets borne on inferior lateral spikes, the male on terminal 

 racemes or panicles. Our illustrations, however, show that 

 these structural arrangements undergo important modifica- 

 tions. Thus, we have first the female spikes assuming a 

 monoicous structure, and this without any regard what- 

 ever to the relative axial arrangement of the male and 

 female florets ; the same part on distinct axes indifferently 

 producing perfect and imperfect male or female florets, as 

 well as collateral mixtures of both ; showing us most con- 

 clusively, their morphogenetic independence of the mere 

 external conditions of life. Again, individual florets of 

 these female spikes present themselves with a structure 

 intermediate between that of the perfect male and female ; 

 and then manifest a most interesting and instructive co- 

 related order in the development of their organs. Thus 

 the superior and normally fertile floret of a spikelet with 

 abortive style and rudimentary ovary, had assumed the 

 characteristic squamulge and glumes of the male floret ; 

 while the normally neuter floret had assumed in toto the 

 male characteristic. 



In the terminal male panicles, with a similar series of 



