122 Statice Limonium on the Banks of the Humber. 
dieted by Vuillemin (Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., Ser. 7, V., pp. 
152-177), who showed that there were really eight cells , 
that they did not separate from one another, and that there 
was no central hole, through which a solid mass could be 
extruded . 
It is generally accepted that the glands of the Plumba- 
ginaceae constitute an apparatus for getting rid of an excess 
of salts absorbed by the plant. But the difficulty in ex- 
plaining their action lies in the fact that the external surface 
of the gland is strongly cuticularised. On staining with 
chlorzinc iodide, the face of the gland is coloured yellow. 
Vuillemin found that, in the middle of each of the central 
triangles, there was a minute spot (un petit trou), about 
two -thirds of a /u in diameter, which did not stain with 
Face of the gland of Statice Limonium, X 800. 
With Chlor-zinc Iodide the face stains yellow, but the four shaded areas stain 
blue ; and the spots indicated by the four black dots remain unstained. 
chlor-zinc iodide. At that point, therefore, the cuticle was 
interrupted. He was not able to determine whether the spot 
consisted of a thin membrane, not stainable with chlor-zinc 
iodide, or whether there was really a hole there. He writes 
‘ Cet orifice, veritable canal excreteur, creuse dans la cuticle,, 
assure la sortie des produits d’elimination sans entrainer un 
exces de transpiration.’ ; and in describing his figure 7 he 
states, * On distingue la trace de l’insertion des cloisons de 
la glande et dans chaque petit triangle interne un orifice 
excreteur.’ But in view of his doubt, previously expressed,, 
his language was probably figurative. 
Prior to consulting the literature on this point, I had 
examined the glands of Statice Limonium by the same method 
as that employed by Vuillemin. The epidermis, with the 
Naturalist 
