ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY* * * § MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
625 
Bhamnus, and those which are provided with a wing, and resemble a 
samara — Loxopterygium , Botryceras. The dehiscent drupes may either 
split through both mesocarp and putamen— Juglans, Caria , Aquilaria , 
or through the mesocarp only, and then either septicidally, Clusia , 
Quapoya, &c., or septifragally — Balsamea, Boswellia. 
When the tissue of the stone is of uniform structure, it may consist 
either of true sclerenchymatous cells, as in Vacciniam, or of tubular cells, 
as in Tropaeolum pentaphyllum. The non-homogeneous stone consists of 
from one to four distinct layers ; in the black and red currant there is 
only a single layer ; in Crataegus there are three ; in the middle one, each 
cell contains a crystal of calcium oxalate ; in the almond there are four 
layers. The author concludes, from the history of their development, that 
the mass of sclerenchymatous cells in the pear have been erroneously 
regarded as a rudimentary or reduced stone. 
Cupule of the Beech and Chestnut.* — From an examination both 
of the normal structure and of abnormal examples, Dr. L. Ce'lakovsky 
concludes that the cupule of the Fagaceae or true Cupuliferse ( Fagus and 
Castanea ) is not strictly homologous to that of the oak. It is, in fact, 
a compound cupule or cup-shaped sympode, composed of three orders of 
axes, each of the three orders (in the chestnut) representing a successive 
generation. The spines are metamorphosed leaves reduced to a few 
lateral veins. The male inflorescence of the beech must be regarded as 
a catkin composed of cymes. 
Stomates in the Fruit of Iris.f — Mr. J. B. Farmer points out that 
in the wall of the ovary of Iris pseudacorus stomates continued to be 
formed during the ripening of the fruit ; and that cell-division some- 
times takes place in their guard-cells. The two guard-cells of the same 
stomate do not always behave alike ; in some cases one, in others both, 
guard-cells contain two nuclei, but the cell-wall between them has 
failed to appear ; and all stages of transition may be observed until 
each guard-cell is divided transversely into two cells, each of which 
contains a nucleus. 
Integument of the Seed of Papilionaceae.J — Sigg. 0. Mattirolo 
and L. Buscalioni have made a careful investigation of this structure, 
and especially of the region adjacent to the umbo of the seed, which 
they divide into three portions — the micropyle, the “ chilarium ” or 
hilary lamina, and the two tubercles (tubercoli gemini), the latter filled 
with a large quantity of tannin. 
Absorbing-organs of the Seeds of Scitamineae.§— Dr. A. Tschirch 
believes that a more or less well-developed absorbing-organ occurs 
in the seeds of all the families of Monocotyledons which possess an 
endosperm or perisperm. In the Zingiberaceae, e. g. Elettaria speciosa, 
it has an elougated conical form, and remains in the seed after 
germination. The young seedling is united with the absorbing- organ, 
* Jahrb. f. Wiss. Bot. (PriDgsheim), xxi. (1890) pp. 128-62 (1 pi.). Cf. this 
Journal, 1887, p. 613. 
f Ann. of Bot., iv. (1890) pp. 174-6 (8 figs.). 
X Atti R. Accad. Sci. Torino, xxiv. (1889). See Bot. Centralbl., xlii. (1890) 
p. 21. Cf. this Journal, ante, p. 355. 
§ SB. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, vii. (1890) pp. 131-40. 
