58 



THE NATDRALIST. 



acris, of our English meadows — here we have one colour only to deal 

 with, yet withal, there are many marks of beauty to trace in this simple 

 flower. Here we have two yellow membranaceous cuticles lying on either 

 side of a white interstratum of cellular matter, again, as in the case of all 

 the plants so far as I have gone as yet, in the process of dissection. But, 

 in this case I notice one difference I did not observe in the Pelargonium, 

 in that both cuticles were very similar in their shape and marking of the 

 cells, the chief difference consisting mainly in depth of colour ; here I 

 noticed a difference in the marking, both sides not being alike ; on the 

 upper surface I find the cells to be more clearly defined than on the 

 under, and to differ in their form. On the upper surface being viewed, 

 under an inch or half inch object glass, we have an appearance as 

 follows : — the membrane or cuticle is like a thin film of yellow gelatine, 

 on its surface running about in all directions are veins having no clearly 

 defined form, the average mean size of which is about one -twenty- third 

 of a millemetre in length or breadth, they are somewhat in form to be 

 compared to the markings, as they appear to the eye on a brass coat of 

 mail, the outline in that form is to the eye like beautiful laquered brass 

 wire raised on the yellow membrane — if the cuticle is not laid on the 

 slip entirely flat, the folds have a still more beautiful appearance than 

 those parts Ijmg perfectly flat, — now this wire-like network has also 

 another appearance rather difficult to describe in v/ords, if we were to 

 take a piece of one of the wire covered strings of a violoncello, and pull 

 that piece of wire out as straight as possible, it would have a continual 

 successions of curves ; now, imagine with this wire in the state just 

 shev/n, a piece of network, the meshes of which were shaped in 

 the coat-of-mail-like form before described, and you have something of 

 this upper film before your mind's eye — I should here state the best way 

 to get this effect, is only to be obtained by viewing this as an opaque 

 object, — in the centre of these cells we have no nucleus as in many other 

 plants. The under surface of the petal is not so beautiful as the upper, 

 but the vein like cells are more regular in size and shape^ and are longer than 

 they are wide. I would here remark in ending the description of this 

 flower, what the use of the microscope is in explaining cause and effect, 

 the flower by unaided vision is seen to be more glossy (almost varnish- 

 able) on the upper surface, than on the underside, the microscope at a 

 glance shews how this effect is produced. 



The second illustration in this division of Cells simple in Form and 



