302 
rOPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
Floral Abnonnalifies. — At a recent meetingof the Natural History Section 
of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, some peculiar 
deviations from the usual form in plants were exhibited. Mr. Sidebotham 
exhibited some very fine spikes of Celsia Cretica, but, instead of the bright 
yellow llowers, they were apetalous. He stated that he had grown a number 
of plants from seed produced from the ordinary form of plant ; they threw 
up fine spikes of flower buds, and, as they appeared a long time in coming 
into flower, he had examined them and found all without petals, some of 
the spikes being in seed. — Pev. J. E. Vize, M.A., forwarded a spike of the 
common Plantain {Plantago major, L.) which had bifurcated from the middle 
of the inflorescence, each portion producing perfect fruits. — Amongst other 
vegetable monstrosities mentioned was that of a dandelion, which Mr. Hunt 
had collected some time ago, having several scapes united so as to form a 
single flat ribbon-like stalk, crowned by the various involucres, more or less 
blended together. 
The Natural History and Che7n istry o f the Ground Nut (Arachis Hypogced). 
— A monograph on this subject appears from the pen of Herr F. A. Fliickiger 
in a recent number of the Fharmaceutische Zeitschrift fur Deutschland, and 
is thus abstracted in the Chemical News of June 11 : — The fruit is known, 
in English language, as ground-nut, earth-nut, pea-nut, and manilla-nut ; 
in French as arackide, orpistache deterre. The plant which yields this fruit 
is a native of tropical and sub-tropical regions, and belongs especially to 
Africa. The average weight of the seeds contained in the fruit and bearers 
of the oil is 0-5 grm. ; they yield from 38 to 50 per cent, of oil, which con- 
sists of a mixture of glycerine compounds and three different fatty acids — 
arachinic acid, fusing at 75® C. ; hypogoeic acid, CggHj^O^, fusing 
at 35“ C.; and palmitinic acid, CgoIIg^O^, fusing at 62“ C. The seeds con- 
tain 28-85 per cent, of protein compounds, 13'87 per cent, of woody fibre, and 
7-16 per cent, of gum and sugar. 
A new hind of Cotton called Buhuy is now being extensively cultivated in 
the Philippine Islands, through the exertions of a missionary. Father Pivas. 
The tree which produces it is of very large size; it begins to yield in its 
fourth year ; after the fifth, it has generally attained the thickness of a 
man’s body. Its pods measure from three to four inches ; a hundred of them 
will make up three pounds of cotton, which, cleansed, are paid for at the 
rate of nine piastres (45 fr.) per hundredweight. — See Land and Water and 
Gaceta dc los Caininos de hierro. 
Influence of Artificial Light in developing the green colour of Plants. — A 
paper demonstrating this was recently read before the French Imperial 
Society of Horticulture by M. Riviere. The following account of an ex- 
periment made by Ermens is quoted from a contemporary : — Having placed 
some roots of endive in one of the cellars where plants are preserved in 
winter, he found that, at a temperature of 21° C., they, in a few hours, 
yielded leaves about four inches long, but white. Ho then lighted gas 
in the cellar to see what would be the effect produced ; and discovered 
that, under the influence of this artificial light, they turned green in the 
course of tliirty hours. 
Why true Cellular Plants are absent from the Coal Measures. — In the ex- 
tremely interesting and valuable lecture which Mr. W. Carruthers (an old 
