430  An  Instructive  Floral  Monstrosity.  {Ami^iJSrm' 
of  reaching  that  strength  by  cold  digestion  of  the  materials  in  the 
official  proportions  are  still  less. 
With  the  British  proportions,  however,  we  find  that  cold  digestion 
for  one  day  yields  us  a  preparation  stronger  than  our  Pharmacopoeia 
requires.  It  is,  therefore,  apparent  that,  by  employing  proper  pro- 
portions, a  solution  of  official  strength  may  be  had  by  one  day  of 
cold  digestion.  And  this  was  proven  by  using  250  gm.  of 
lead  acetate,  147  gm.  of  lead  oxide,  and  enough  water  to  make 
1,000  gm.  by  the  directions  already  given  in  this  paper.  After 
two  days  the  mixture  was  filtered  and  the  filtrate  found  to  contain 
26-9  per  cent,  of  lead  subacetate. 
While  working  on  this  subject  the  author  decided  to  examine  the 
strength  of  the  preparation  as  dispensed  by  some  retail  and  whole- 
sale druggists.  Four  samples,  obtained  from  retail  druggists  and 
made  by  them,  showed  respectively,  22  o,  15-7.  l'2  and  18-3  per 
cent.,  and  three  lots  from  wholesale  dealers  contained  250,  15-9  and 
21-5  per  cent,  against  the  official  requirement  of  25  per  cent.  £\ 
  if 
AN  INSTRUCTIVE  FLORAL  MONSTROSITY.'. 
By  Edson  S.  Bastin. 
A  member  of  my  class  recently  placed  in  my  hands  a  rose  which 
has  a  peculiar  interest.  Its  sepals,  instead  of  being  united  at  their 
base  into  a  tube,  were  all  distinct  and  inserted  on  the  thalamus. 
They  were  also  longer,  as  long  as  they  would  be  if,  in  an  ordinary 
rose,  the  whole  tubular  portion  had  separated  into  five  parts  to  its 
base.  They  were  also  somewhat  more  foliaceous  than  in  the  ordi- 
nary form  of  the  flower.  The  petals  were  of  the  usual  shape  and 
numerous,  the  stamens  and  pistils  also  numerous,  as  in  the  ordinary 
form  of  the  cultivated  plant ;  but  what  was  peculiar  was  the  fact 
that  all  these  parts  were  inserted,  not  on  a  hollow  or  tubular  recep- 
tacle, as  in  the  ordinary  flower,  but  on  a  convex  one. 
The  monstrosity  is  probably  to  be  regarded  as  a  case  of  atavism, 
and  is  instructive,  not  only  as  pointing  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
remote  ancestors  of  the  rose  had  all  the  floral  organs  distinct  and 
inserted  on  a  convex  receptacle,  but  also  as  demonstrating  the  nature 
of  the  lower  or  tubular  portion  of  the  flower.  It  tends  to  confirm 
the  usual  view  held  by  American  botanists  that  the  exterior  portion 
of  this  organ  is  adnate  calyx,  and  the  inner  or  lining  portion,  which 
bears  on  its  surface  the  pistils,  and  on  its  margin  the  stamens  and 
petals,  is  the  thalamus  or  receptacle. 
