The Presidenfs Address. 
85 
matter on tlie development of the cells of plants, and the 
phenomena of reproduction^ more especially amongst the 
lowest forms of plants. Between the publication of these 
two works, he devoted the larger portion of his time to 
microscopic observations, and he published several papers on 
these subjects in the Transactions of the Linnean Society/ 
the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural History/ and in the 
Reports of the British Association. The subject to which he 
gave the largest share of his attention was the nature of the 
changes which go on during the process of the impregnation 
of the ovule in the Phanerogamia. Schleiden had opposed the 
view of Amici, that the embryo is developed from an " em- 
bryonic vesicle contained within the " sac of the embryo/' 
and maintained that it was formed within the pollen- tube. 
Henfrey, from an early period, maintained the correctness of 
the first view of Amici, and made a great number of obser- 
vations on the subject. The whole of that part of Professor 
Henfrey^s work devoted to the histology and reproduction of 
plants is well deserving the study of those engaged in the 
microscopic investigation of the structure and formation of 
plants. Mr. Henfrey contributed two papers to the Transac- 
tions of our Society — one in the fourth volume of the new 
series, ^' On some Fresh-water Confervoid Algse new to Great 
Britain/' and one in the seventh volume, " On Chlorosphsera, 
a new genus of Unicellular Fresh-water Algse.'' It was in 
such papers as these that he displayed his careful habits of 
observation with the microscope ; and had his life been spared, 
we might have expected from him large contributions to our 
present knowledge of microscopic organisms. During the 
last five years of his life he was occupied, in conjunction with 
Dr. Griffiths, in the laborious task of compiling and editing 
the Micrographic Dictionary.' Mr. Henfrey undertook the 
whole of that part of the work which related to the micro- 
scopic structure of plants. The value attached to this great 
work was indicated by the speedy demand for a new edition, 
which was completed just previous to the death of Mr. 
Henfrey. We have here treasured up all that had been done 
for the advance of botanical science by the aid of the micro- 
scope ; and our friend could hardly have left behind him a 
more fitting monument of his industry and appreciation of 
microscopic inquiry, than his own contributions to this com- 
prehensive volume. 
But besides these labours having more especial reference 
to our specialty, Mr. Henfrey produced many other valuable 
works. In 1852, he wrote a volume on ^ The Vegetation of 
Europe,' being an account of the distril)ution of the princi- 
