and about 5/7000 of an inch (.0181 millimetres), whilst those of the perfect flowers are about 7/7000 of an inch (.0254 millimetres) in diameter. M. Duval-Jouve states that the panicles very rarely protrude from their sheaths, but that when this does happen the flowers expand and exhibit well-developed ovaries and stigmas, together with full-sized anthers containing apparently sound pollen; nevertheless such flowers are invariably quite sterile. Schreiber had previously observed that if a panicle is only half protruded, this half is sterile, whilst the still included half is fertile. Some plants which grew in a large tub of water in my greenhouse behaved on one occasion in a very different manner. They protruded two very large much-branched panicles; but the florets never opened, though these included fully developed stigmas, and stamens supported on long filaments with large anthers that dehisced properly. If these florets had opened for a short time unperceived by me and had then closed again, the empty anthers would have been left dangling outside. Nevertheless they yielded on August 17th an abundance of fine ripe seeds. Here then we have a near approach to the single case as yet known of this grass producing in a state of nature (in Germany) perfect flowers which yielded a copious supply of fruit. (8/26. Dr. Ascherson ‘Botanische Zeitung’ 1864 page 350.) Seeds from the cleistogamic flowers were sent by me to Mr. Scott in Calcutta, who there cultivated the plants in various ways, but they never produced perfect flowers. In Europe Leersia oryzoides is the sole representative of its genus, and Duval- Jouve, after examining several exotic species, found that it apparently is the sole one which bears cleistogamic flowers. It ranges from Persia to North America, and specimens from Pennsylvania resembled the European ones in their concealed manner of fructification. There can therefore be little doubt that this plant generally propagates itself throughout an immense area by cleistogamic seeds, and that it can hardly ever be invigorated by cross- fertilisation. It resembles in this respect those plants which are now widely spread, though they increase solely by asexual generation. (8/27. I have collected several such cases in my ‘Variation under Domestication’ chapter 18 2nd edition volume 2 page 153.) CONCLUDING REMARKS ON CLEISTOGAMIC FLOWERS.