1S70. ] EIVERS’ SEEDLING PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 219 
in the watery cell-sap, though sometimes solid corpuscles or utricular structures 
are found in coloured cell-sap. In young tissues of flowers the colouring-matter 
may be observed to form gradually in the vacuoles of the protoplasm, and as the 
cells expand to increase in quantity, until the separate portions coalesce and fill 
the whole cavity of the cell. 
The colouring-matters of flowers admit of being grouped in two series, the 
cyanic series and the xanthic series, with green as an intermediate colour. 
Thus, starting with greenish-blue, the cyanic series passes through blue, blue- 
violet, violet, violet-red to red. The xanthic series, on the other hand, passes 
from green to greenish-yellow, yellow, orange-yellow, orange, orange-red to red. 
The cyanic colours are usually in solution, the xanthic usually solid. It rarely 
happens that the colours of the two series meet in the same flower. The various 
tints of colour are produced either by means of the interposition of colourless cells 
between those containing coloured juices, or by the superposition of cells with 
different colouring-matter one over the other. Thus, an orange tint would arise 
from the superposition of yellow cells over red, and so forth. White is produced 
either by a very dilute coloured solution, or by the presence of air in compara¬ 
tively large quantities in the tissues. The velvety appearance of the petals of 
many flowers is due to the fact that the epidermal cells are raised in the form of 
small conical elevations, like the pile of velvet, and the play of light thereon gives 
rise to the appearance referred to. 
We glean these particulars respecting a most interesting subject, of some 
importance to gardeners, from the recently issued edition of Professor Henfrey’s 
Elementary Course of Botany f which has passed under the revision of Dr. Masters, 
than whom no one more competent for the task could be found. Without being 
swollen out to an unwieldy size by lengthy dissertations on unimportant topics, 
we have in this new edition of Henfrey a complete text-book of Botany in its 
various departments, brought up to the level of our present knowledge.—M. 
RIVERS’ SEEDLING PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 
HAVE grown and fruited in pots this summer some of Mr. Eivers’ new seed¬ 
ling Peaches and Nectarines, and I have found the following varieties to be 
great acquisitions as regards earliness and flavour. They were grown 
principally on a glass-covered wall, but a few of the varieties were fruited 
on a south wall without protection of any kind. 
Amongst Peaches the Early Beatrice was the earliest in ripening, being quite 
ripe by the middle of July; it was juicy in texture, and the flavour was good. 
Early Louise ripened about the end of July, but was not so juicy nor so good 
in flavour as Early Beatrice. Early Eivers ripened with me about the same time 
as the Early Louise, and was very juicy, with a rich, racy flavour. Dagmar 
* An Elementary Course of Botany; Structural, Physiological, and Systematic. By Professor Artlixir 
Henfrey. Illustrated by upwards of 500 Woodcuts. Second Edition, revised, and in part rewritten bv 
Maxwell T. Masters, M.D. London: Van Voorst. Pp. 708. ’ ^ 
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