In this series then, the same general facts were observed respecting the assumed typical form, viz.:-that a spiral vessel or vessels surrounded by cells, constituted the whole of the germinating embryo-that the spirals appeared first in the radicles and that, as the plumule advanced in growth, they presented themselves first as a single spiral, then as a multiplied but unbranched one, and lastly as a spiral ramifying in every direction, and surrounded by cells of varying colours. and character, according to the stage of progress of the leaf developed from the plumule. In the Lepidium (cress) pl. 4, fig. 31, the mustard, fig. 32, and the Leptisiphora, fig. 33, the same general facts were noticed. In pl. 4, fig. 31 a, the plumule was still below the ground, and very slightly developed, and no spiral could be traced in it, though it was present in the radicle d. In b, the cotyledons had appeared above ground, but were still very pale green, and there was now a single unbranched spiral in each lobe e, whilst in c, which was well grown and a deep green, the spiral was abundantly ramified as shewn in h.

In the Leptisiphora, pl. 4, fig. 33, it is needless to mention anything but the scattered cells, which are shewn in the draw. ing, which were separated by the pressure of the microscopic glasses.

In the mustard, pl. 4, fig. 32, it is extremely difficult to trace the spiral; for it is so obscured by the deep opaque green pigment in the connecting and covering cells of this thick hard leaf, that it is only here and there the spiral can be noticed, in the unconnected manner shewn in the drawing. The next subject for examination, pl. 4, fig. 34, the Dorstenia contrayerva was selected in order to observe whether there was any difference of importance between the temporary or cotyledonary leaves a and the permanent ones bb; but it will be noticed that there is no essential distinction between them, and the only further point to be dwelt upon in this drawing is-that the ramifica

tions of the spiral vessels do not terminate abruptly, but they anastomose by looped junctions with others—a fact which is equally to be noticed in all other leaves, whether cotyledonary or permanent.

The last illustration in this series is taken from the acorn, pl. 4, fig. 30, which furnishes a striking difference to all the other seeds examined, arising from the hard woody character of the embryo c, even in its earliest stage. Both plumule and radicle are so thick and hard as to require careful slicing by a sharp tool before a section can be obtained thin enough to be rendered transparent; and even when such a section has been obtained, the continuity of the spiral is constantly interrupted d, by its being hidden by the dense elongated woody cells which compose nearly the whole of the embryo; or by the thick opaque masses of deep brown pigment, which colour the embryo even at a very early stage of its growth.

Since, however, the germination of seeds is not the only mode by which plants are propagated, I next turned for illustrations to those leaves which possess the power of originating buds from their surface when separated from the parent plant, like the Bryophyllum; and the appearances observed in the Gesneria and Sedum are shewn in pl. 3, figs. 20 and 22. The new plant in the Gesneria, fig. 20, is seen to be still attached to the decayed portion of the leaf from which it has sprung, fig. 20 a, and the Sedum is growing from the end of a still vigorous leaf, pl. 2, fig. 22 m. Both the plants are already furnished with leaves and roots, and are perfectly capable of an independent existence. They are, in fact, perfect, independent plants. On examination, the stem of the Gesneria, pl. 3, fig. 20 b, was readily seen to consist of the old typical form, the "spiral surrounded by cells;" but the leaf, c, was so thick as not to admit of satisfactory examination until it was split so as to reduce its thickness, when it also was found to present the appearances so often noticed before, of the ramifying spiral covered with thick green cells.

In the Sedum, pl. 3, fig. 22 b, the examination was very easy, for the plant was so succulent as to become transparent at once, and to present the structure both in its leaves and roots which is shewn in the drawing. I examined also a young shoot from a Euphorbia, but have not drawn it, as it corresponded entirely with those here represented.

From all these observations then, I think we are justified in concluding, that the Archetype or Phytotype of a flowering plant consists of a spiral vessel surrounded by cells-the spiral being simple or multiplied and branching; and the cells being of various forms and strength, according to the purpose they have to serve.

Thus in the soft, rounded, and succulent leaf of the sedum the cells are circular and delicate in structure, and surround a slightly ramified spiral vessel; whilst in the germinating acorn the cells are dense and elongated, hard and woody, and already shew that the insignificant plumule and radicle are eventually to become British oak. In the delicate tapering staminoid organ in the stork's bill, the spiral is single and unbranched, and the cells are also tapering and slender; whilst in the various leaves which have passed under examination the spiral has been simple or branched, and the cells delicate or strong, according to the stage of growth and the habits of the plant. But in all these parts, as well as in the stem of the dodder, and the delicate organs of a flower, we find the same essential character, viz., "the spiral vessel surrounded by cells."

Columbus shewed how to make his egg stand upright, and having done so, foretold that all who saw him would then make theirs stand much more perfectly than his. I have felt most strongly throughout these experiments, how entirely they stand towards Goethe's original discovery, in the position of Columbus' followers towards him. The observations just related have but shewn what Goethe himself would have taught

had he been possessed of such aids to observation as we enjoy in the present day. He saw distinctly that all the varied forms of vegetable life were constructed upon a clear and intelligent plan, and were not produced at random, or by unconnected acts of the Great Artificer of creation; and if he fell something short of the knowledge which we now possess, he still cleared the path for us to walk in; and botanists to all succeeding time will stand indebted to him for a law which was immensely in advance of his age, and is scarcely even now out of date-and none will be so desirous of acknowledging their obligation to him as those who have found in him a trustworthy and valuable guide through the intricacies of the vegetable kingdom. And in saying this I cannot refrain from alluding also to a remark of Linnæus, which, though not worked out by him so as to produce the results derived from Goethe's more elaborate research, is yet stamped by the comprehensiveness and simplicity of his genius, and contains even a deeper perception of the truth than the law announced by Goethe himself.

"Principium florum et foliorum idem est,"-" the beginning of flowers and leaves is the same,"—is the simple statement of Linnæus; a statement which he left as a legacy for succeeding botanists to work out, and which, although unremembered by me until after the completion of my experiments, is identical, so far as it goes, with the principle I have endeavoured to bring forward in the foregoing account. My task has been to discover what that "beginning" is; and, having discovered it, to give it some simple and expressive name; conveying, if possible, the truth contained in Goethe's law, but free from the objections inseparable from his theory, in the form in which he expressed it.

A dwarf on the shoulders of a giant may see further than his bearer; nevertheless he is but a dwarf, and the other is a giant still.

SEVENTH ORDINARY MEETING.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, 9th January, 1860.

The Rev. H. H. HIGGINS, M.A., President, in the Chair.

The resignations of Dr. Marshall and Mr. Lidderdale, as Ordinary Members, were accepted.

Mr. MOORE exhibited a stuffed specimen of the white thighed colobus, (Colobus leucomeros,) one of the West African monkeys, with long silky black hair, the skins of which have lately been so generally used for ladies' muffs. He also submitted a specimen of the Malapterurus Beninensis, first made known by Mr. Andrew Murray, of Edinburgh, in 1855. It was a fresh-water fish inhabiting the Old Calabar river, ten inches long, and furnished with six barbels indicating its habits as a ground fish. Like other electric fishes, it was destitute of scales.

Dr. COLLINGWOOD said that the terms Catarrhine and Platyrrhine as proposed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire for the monkies of the old and new world respectively, were by no means of universal application. He had been led from an examination of the Quadrumana in the British and several Continental Museums, to the conclusion that the usually received definition of these terms was liable to numerous exceptions, one of the most remarkable of which was the colobus now before the society. The direction of the lower angles of the nostrils was the only constant character, for on being bisected, they converged towards the mouth in the old world monkies, and diverged in those of the new world.

Dr. THOMSON drew attention to several points of interest. One was the discovery of a new planet by Dr. Lescarbault, confirmed by M. Le Verrier, and endorsed by Mr. Lassell.