ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
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dcnsis (Umbellifer®) are thrown to a distance of 5 or 6 feet from the 
plant. When ripe the mericarps become detached from the carpophore 
for the greater part of their length, only a small portion of them ad- 
hering to its apex. Under the force of a sudden blow, the mericarp 
becomes completely released, while the adhesion at the top is strong 
enough to turn the fruit over when released ; and it is thus slung from 
its support, and propelled, the lower end foremost. 
Funicle of Seeds.* * * § — From the examination of a number of seeds — 
Pisum sativum, Vlcia Faba, Brassica Napus, Papaver somniferum, Nico- 
tiana Tabacum, &c. — Herr M. Dahmen draws the following conclusions. 
The main object of the funicle, and its invariable function, is to furnish 
a path for the conduction of nutrient tissue to the growing seed ; but it 
may also serve to assist the detachment of the ripe seed from the peri- 
carp. The tissue of the funicle is commonly differentiated into epiderm, 
phloem, xylem, and spongy parenchyme ; sclerenchymatous cells are 
also sometimes present. The fibro-vascular bundle is never branched, 
and the xylem consists exclusively of spiral tracheids. The cells 
contain proteids, usually sugar and starch, and occasionally raphides, 
mucilage, fatty and essential oils, and chromoplasts. The conduction 
of the nutrient substances takes place mainly through the parenchyme 
and the epiderm ; and the phenomena observed are favourable to the 
theory that the phloem is rather a reservoir for food-material than one 
of the main agents in its conduction. 
Seeds of Rhamnus and Coccoloba. j — Herr G. Lindau describes the 
structure of the mature seeds and of the fruit of JRhamnus catharticus and 
Coccoloba populifolia (Polygonacere), which have this peculiarity in com- 
mon ; that the endosperm of the ripe seed exhibits one (Rhamnus) or 
more (Coccoloba) furrows, which originate not in the endosperm itself, 
but in the integuments ; depressions are formed in the integument, 
into which the endosperm forces itself. 
Specific Characters in Eucalyptus.f — Messrs. D. McAlpine and 
J. R. Remphrey give descriptions and drawings of transverse sections of 
the petiole of a number of species of Eucalyptus, from which they state 
that in many cases specific characters can be drawn. These characters 
depend on the relative thickness or thinness of the epiderm, the number, 
size, and arrangement of the cortical cavities, the appearance of the 
central canals, and other points of structure. 
Mr. A. W. Howitt § describes and classifies the species of Eucalyptus 
growing in Central and Western Gippsland, and has remarks on their dis- 
tribution in area, altitude, and geological formation, the influence of 
climate and geological formation on the distribution of types, and that 
of human settlement on the Eucalyptus forests. 
Leaves of Liriodendron.|| — Mr. T. Holm points out the great varia- 
bility of the leaves of the tulip-tree, Liriodendron Tulipifera, according 
to their position on very young or on older branches. The difference 
* Jahrb. f. Wiss. Bot. (Pringslieim), xxiii. (1891) pp. 441-78 (8 pis.). 
t Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell., ix. (1891) pp 274-9 (1 pi.). 
j Trans. Roy. Soc. Victoria, ii. (1890) pp. 1-64 (7 pis.). 
§ Tom. cit., pp. 81-120 (9 pis,). 
11 Proc. U.S. National Museum, xiii. (1890) pp. 15-35 (G pis.). 
