368 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
flowers of the inflorescence were suppressed, but the lateral buds were 
each transformed into a flower. Both the examples were male plants. 
Leaves of Lotus.* — M. P. Yuillemin states that the assimilating 
tissue of the lamina of leaves is usually bifacial with long palisade-cells 
on the upper, and spongy tissue on the under side ; Lotus corniculatus 
is a good example of this. It is necessary, however, to contrast with 
this L. villosus, L. pusillus , &c., where the green parenchyme is uni- 
formly spongy, and L. arenarius and L. sessilifolius , where there are 
short palisade-cells on both surfaces. The epidermal cells of the 
lamina are flat or spherical, and polygonal or sinuous in contour. 
Except in X. glaberrimus and Delestrei, the leaves of the species of 
Lotus are provided with hairs composed of three cells. 
Production of Bulbils in Lilium auratum.t — M. P. Duchartre states 
that the production of bulbils has already been described in Lilium 
Thomsonianum. In X. aurcitum it was noticed that when the bulb was 
taken from the soil the scales were becoming proliferous. The external 
face of these scales was not in any way peculiar, but the internal face 
gave rise to numerous bulbils ; these were spread over the surface in two 
different ways. Two of the most developed bulbils were generally to be 
found at the base of the scale, while the others occupied a higher 
position and were attached on the median line. 
Nodosities on the Roots of Leguminosae.i — From a series of 
experiments in inoculating plants of Pisum sativum from infected 
specimens of various other Leguminosae, M. E. Laurent arrives at the 
conclusion that the nodules are caused by the attacks of a microbe (not 
necessarily a bacterium), and that there is not a special microbe for each 
species, since infection can take place from one species of Leguminosae 
to another. He further confirms the statement of earlier writers that 
the tendency towards the production of tubercles on the roots is in 
inverse proportion to the amount of nitrogen contained in the nutrient 
fluid. 
Filaments in the Root-tubercles of Leguminosae. § — Herr A. Koch 
has determined that the filiform bodies which infest the root-tubercles 
of various Leguminosae possess a true cellulose-membrane, though the 
reaction with elilor-zinc-iodide can only be made out with certainty, 
after removing their contents, by laying thin sections for some hours in 
eau-de-Javelle. He does not consider that this necessarily negatives 
the hypothesis of their bacterioid nature, since several true bacteria 
possess a cellulose-membrane, notably Sarcina ventriculi , and the 
vinegar-bacteria. The observations were made on the following species 
of Leguminosae: — Vicia Faba, V. narbonensis , Bobinia Pseud-acacia , 
Trifolium pratense, Medicago lupulina, Pisum sativum, Lens esculenta, and 
Onobrychis sativa. 
* Bull. Soc. Bot. France, xxxvii. (1890) pp. 206-13. t T. c., pp. 234-6. 
X Bull. Acad. R. Sci. Belgique, xix. (1890) pp. 764-71 (1 pi.). Cf. this Journal, 
1890, p. 372. 
