198 Johnson. — On the Nursing of the Embryo 
In 1 843 Griffith’s second paper 1 was read before the Lin- 
nean Society. In this paper the embryo-sacs of Sant alum (all 
three) and of Osyris (only one) are described as extending, 
‘before fertilisation,’ posteriorly through nucellus and ovuli- 
ferous column to the base of the latter. Though Decaisne 
was the first to observe the tube in the ovuliferous column, 
Griffith was the first to observe its true nature. As proof of 
the importance Griffith attached to this backward growth of 
the embryo-sac I cannot do better than quote his own 2 words: 
‘ It is probable that the curious form of embryo-sac, so con- 
spicuous in Sant alum and in Osyris , is of general occurrence 
in the natural family Santalaceae. I find, on referring to notes 
made in 1836, that a sac resembling that of Osyris at its 
anterior, and that of Santalum at its posterior end, would 
appear to exist in a Santalaceous genus probably allied to 
Sphaerocarya. [Foot-note] I would recommend the prolong- 
ation of a membranous tube from the base of the ovulum 
backwards as one test of the affinities of Santalaceae.’ In 1856 
Henfrey’s paper ‘ On the development of the ovule of Santalum 
album , with some remarks on the phenomena of impregna- 
tion in Plants generally’ was read 3 , also, before the Linnean 
Society. This paper, mainly concerned in a refutation, judging 
from the phenomena seen in Santalum album , of Schleiden’s 
theory of fertilisation and origin of the embryo (which 
Schleiden himself in 1858 was able to prove groundless) con- 
firmed Griffith’s description of the course of the embryo-sac, 
a course which may be represented as -shaped (a being 
the outgrown apical, b the backward grown antipodal end). 
In 1859 W. Hofmeister 4 , extending the previous observation 
of Thesium 5 , describes in considerable detail the early stages 
in the seed of Thesium alpinum^ L. and Th. intermedium , Schrad. 
Decaisne’s results are not noticed. 
1 Griffith, in Trans. Linn. Soc. xix (1843). 2 Ibid. p. 193. 
3 Henfrey, in Trans. Linn. Soc. xxii (1856). 
* W. Hofmeister, Neue Beitrage z. Kenntn. d. Embr. d. Phanerog., Abhandl. d. 
s'achs. Ges. d. Wissensch. vi, p. 563. 
5 W, Hofmeister, in Pringsheim’s Jahrbucher, i. p. 112, 
