64 Miscellaneous. the height, the leafy part at the top of the caudex is included, along with the tub in which the plant is growing : — Acrocomia aculeata, 38 feet. Areca triandra, 19 „ Caryota urens, 43 „ The frond is 4 feet 9 inches beyond the roof. Chamserops humilis var, elata, 20 feet. Cocos nucifera . . 18 „ Euterpe montana . . 38 „ Frond about 2 feet beyond the roof. Livistona chinensis, 40 feet. Fronds bent down by the roof of the house. Sagus Rumphii, 43 feet. Fronds about 10 inches beyond the roof. Seaforthia elegans, 22 feet. Several of them are between fifty and sixty years old. Dr. Balfour gave an account of a botanical trip to Ireland in August 1852 with some of his pupils. MISCELLANEOUS. On the Fecundation of the Fucacea. By M. Gustave Thuret. The physiological functions of the antheridia in the higher Cryp-togamia appear to be now pretty well established. It is no longer doubted that they are fecundating organs, and that the antherozoids which they contain are the immediate agents of fecundation, although the action of these upon the female organ or archegonium has not yet been observed. But as regards the lowest Cryptogamia (Algse, Fungi, Lichens) the question is much less advanced. The existence of antheridia in these vegetables is a recent discovery, which careful researches will probably extend to all the families of this vast group, but which in the author's opinion cannot be established with certainty until the fecundating power of these organs upon the reproductive apparatus shall be demonstrated. The author availed himself of his stay at Cherbourg to endeavour to resolve this question as regards the organs designated by M. De-caisne and himself as the antheridia of the Fucaceas. He considers that the results of his researches furnish the first direct proof of the existence of true sexuality in the lower Cryptogamia. With this view he has studied the phsenomcna presented by arti-ficial impregnation. Several species of Fucacese are dioecious ; when these plants are placed for some time in a damp atmosphere, the spores and the antheridia are pushed out on the surface of the fronds in great numbers ; they are then easily collected and deposited in vessels filled with sea-water, or simply in a drop of water on a slip of glass which is protected from evaporation.
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