] 6 
THE FLORISTS JOURNAL. 
it is difficult to contend ; and, indeed, it seems probable that the 
question, as far as proper spiral vessels are concerned, is settled. 
Whether or not ducts have a different function is uncertain ; it 
is, however, probable, from the extreme thinness of their sides, 
that they are really filled with fluid when full grown, whatever 
may have been the case when they were first generated.” The 
cdr-cells in such plants, as they appear to form part of the vital 
system, as in water plants, are regular cavities of cellular matter, 
intended to enable the plants to float in the water : in other cases, 
as in Umbelliferce , Graminece , &c., where they do not appear to 
be essential to vitality, they are mere ragged distensions of the 
tissue, caused by the growth of one part more rapidly than 
another. 
Woody Tissue appears to be applied to the convej^ance of 
fluids, both upwards and downwards, from one end of the body 
to the other, until it becomes choked up by the deposit of 
earthy matter, and the natural secretions of the plant. The 
late Mr. Knight was clearly of this opinion, but Dutrochet re¬ 
gards them merely as downward channels. The power possessed 
by cuttings of forming roots, and establishing themselves, seems 
to afford strong evidence in support of Mr. Knight’s opinion. 
This tissue gives firmness and elasticity to every part of the 
plant in which it is found ; its surprising tenacity, and the ad¬ 
mirable manner in which it surrounds and protects the vascular 
system, which in itself has no stability, are strong proofs of 
these properties. It is also the tissue whence the roots originate; 
for whilst leaf-buds, and all their modifications and appendages, 
are always generated in and proceed from the cellular tissue, 
the formation of roots always results from an elongation of the 
woody tissue : this may readily be seen by tracing a young root 
to its origin, 
( To be continued .) 
LIST OF NEW PLANTS. 
Myrtaceje.— Monadeiphia Polyandria. 
Barringtonia speciosa. Cultivators will be pleased to find that this noble 
plant, which is chiefly known in our stoves for its very handsome foliage, 
and for the alleged difficulty of growing it well, has produced its remark¬ 
able inflorescence in the stove of Colonel Baker, at Salisbury. Mr. Dodds, 
gardener to Colonel B., says— “ It is a stately tree, which grows plentifully 
towards the coast of many of the islands in the Southern or Pacific Ocean, as 
well as in various parts of India, China, and Indian Islands. The bark is 
