764 Scott. — On the Flowers of Sparmannia cifricana , 
The peduncle circumnutates and grows during flowering on 
an average if inches (4^ cms.) in height, and the flower-bud 
rises 3 inches ( 7 1 cms.) in height. 
These results were arrived at by means of a diagram made 
by careful daily measurements on a cylindrical glass enclosing 
the inflorescence. 
Figs. 1-12 represent stages in the development of an 
inflorescence, and are drawings selected from a continuous 
series beginning on March 6 and ending July 23, 1902, drawn 
every day and every night during flowering. 
If Fig. 1 is first examined, three buds will be seen moving 
up into the flowering position ; we will first follow the be- 
haviour of bud 3, in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, as this has only just 
started from the pendent position parallel to the main peduncle. 
The first drawing of bud 3 was made at 11 a.m. March 6, 
temp. 63° F. (17-5° C.) on a fine sunny day, and the movement of 
the pedicel was very rapid ; the amount of movement attained 
by 4 p. m. is shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. Here it 
will be seen that the whole pedicel is straightening itself ; it 
continues to rise in this way all through the night (Fig. 15 
represents the position of a similar bud at 4.30 a.m.), until 
on March 7, 10 a.m. it had attained the position shown in 
Fig. 2. The pedicel then makes a sharp bend as seen in 
3 ( or better in Fig. 31) the bud is dropped into the 
vertical position ready for flowering by the movement at the 
joint (see Fig. 5 where 3 is in flower), and in Figs. 1 (bud 1), 
52 , 55, 58. The exactness of the vertical position attained is 
very remarkable ; no doubt the opening bud has its stamens 
protected from injury till the last minute before opening by 
this means, and, if rain falls, the hairy sepals are in the posi- 
tion of an umbrella, ready to throw it off, without injury to 
the more internal parts of the flower. We must now follow 
the opening of the bud. (Figs. 22-25, 30-39, 58-64 show 
this process.) 
The bud on a hot day begins to open as a rule a short 
time before sunrise. For instance, on the morning when the 
sun rose at 6.32 a.m. March 8, at 5.45 a.m. I found the buds 
