402 Mr. W. Thompson on the British Species of abundant base in some of the other vegetable tissues, it was probable that this salt was sulphate of potassa. On com-paring the form of microscopic crystals of sulphate of potassa with that of the crystals derived from the pollen, it was found that they were identical ; but in order to determine this point with greater certainty, a solution of oxalic acid was added to the pollenic crystals, which upon evaporation afforded cry-stals having the characteristic form of the binoxalate of po-tassa (fig. 14.). That the potassa existed in the state of car-bonate became probable from the fact, that the water in which the pollen had been macerated did not yield crystals upon a partial evaporation, the carbonate of potassa being deliques-cent. Note, — Although the main object of this communication has been anticipated by M. Fritzsche, of whose labours, published in the Transactions of the Petersburgh Academy, our corre-spondent seems to have had no knowledge, it will prove in-teresting to many of our readers, inasmuch as the writings of Fritzsche are little known in this country, and his views are in some degree confirmed by the observations of our corre-spondent, both agreeing in their deductions. M. Fritzsche has not only discovered a third tunic, but even a fourth, which is said to occur, among other plants, in Clarkia elegans, some species of Oenothera, and in Encharidium concinnu. — Edit. XLVII. — Observations on several British Fishes, including the description of a New Species, By William Thompson, Esq., Vice-President of the Natural History Society of Belfast*. [With a Plate.] i. On the British Species of the Genus Monochirus, Cuv, By the kindness of Dr. Parnell in supplying me with speci-mens of the Red-backed Flounder of Hanmer, c Pennant's Brit. Zool./ (v. iii. p. 313. pi. 48. ed. 1812,) and the Mon. mi-nutus, Parn., I am enabled to speak decidedly on some points which, in my previous remarks on these species, i Annals Nat. * Read before this Society December 5, 1838, and illustrated by the spe-cimens of which it treated.
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