The Use of Anatomical Characters. 177 
different types of woodland on undergrowth, and Mr. Parkin on the 
Localisation of Anthocyan in Foliage Leaves. 
In the afternoon there was an excursion to the Sandhills, half 
the party being conducted by Dr. Darbishire, who demonstrated the 
leading ecological features of the flora, while the other half 
followed Mr. Ball, who pointed out some of the rarer plants that 
inhabit this interesting locality. 
Wednesday morning was devoted to miscellaneous papers 
which we have no space to notice, and this brought the very full and 
varied work of Section K to a close. 
THE USE OF ANATOMICAL CHARACTERS FOR 
SYSTEMATIC PURPOSES. 
rnHE zoologist will generally hesitate to assign an animal to its 
l systematic position until he has had an opportunity of 
examining its internal structure and in this branch of biological 
science the necessity of taking anatomy into account in classification 
was recognised at an early date. Far later only were the first steps 
taken towards the use of the anatomy of plants in classification, 
although here the external morphological differences of closely allied 
species are often so difficult to detect, that any further distinguish¬ 
ing feature may be welcomed, even though it involve the cutting of 
a section and its examination under the microscope. Although 
many earlier authors had indicated the possible value of anatomical 
characters in classification and others such as Wedell (Monograph 
of Urticaceae, 1856), had made use of such features, as can be 
easily detected with the help of a lens ( e.g ., cystoliths), it was the year 
1863 that first saw the publication of a treatise, in which the 
anatomy of the plant was employed in specific distinction. This is 
Duval-Jouve’s work on the French species of Equisetum , which 
was followed by other papers of the same author and by Bertrand’s 
treatise on the anatomy of the Coniferae and Gnetaceae and 
ultimately in 1872 by Bureau’s work on the Bignoniaceae, in which 
anatomical features were made use of in the diagnosis of the genera. 
However Radlkofer’s monograph of the Sapindaceous genus 
Serjania is really the first important contribution towards systema¬ 
tic anatomy, being based on the anatomical examination of 
