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292 BRITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXETER.
dark purple anthers are a mass of some Cryptogamic plant, allied, T
suppose, to the smut of Wheat. .
In tjie bud the pollen grains can be
distinguished, afterwards they are wholly corrupted. There remains a
pretty case of a reversion from a dioecious to a hermaphrodite con-
dition." Subsequently he suggested that the plants might be natural
hybrids. The impression crossed his mind thatj the pollen being de-
stroyed at an early period, the ovarium was developed in compensation.
Miss Becker pursued her observations, and to account for the appear-
ances she had two theories :— 1. That the bisexual plants were cases
of natural reversion to the original form, and that their association
with the fungus disease was accidental. 2. That the parasitic fungus
caused the flowers to assume the bisexual form. She maintained the
last of the two to be the right one. Entering into many considera-
tions in support of her view, she suggested that it might be an instance
in illustration of Darwin's theory of Pangenesis. Dr. Dickson thought
Miss Becker's theory unsupported by the evidence. Precedent disease
of the LycJmis was the probable cause of the fungus growing in it.
Dr. Wilkes questioned the notion that a fungus parasite could help in
developing the organs of a plant.— Professor Balfour, while acknow-
ledging the excellence of the paper, disagreed with Miss Becker's con-
clusion. If Miss Becker was right, the instance was the first known
to the botanical world.—Miss Becker replied cleverly. Perhaps it was
the first instance, but why might not she make the first discovery of
it ? She was (piite prepared to hear that they disagreed with her view,
for, as far as she had observed, that section was remarkable for this,
that everybody disagreed with everybody else. [Compare leading article
in 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' Sept. 25, 1869, on this subject. Ed.]
" On the Relative Value of the Characters employed in the Classijica-
tioH of Plants.'' By Dr. Maxwell T. Masters. This paper was de-
voted to the consideration of some of the means employed by botanists
in elaborating the "natural" systems of classification, and to the esti-
mation of the relative value to be attached to these means. The cha-
racters treated of were the following :— 1, characters derived from the
relative frequency of occurrence of a particular form, or a particidar
aiTangement of organs ; 2, developmental characters, whether " conge-
nital" or "acquired;" 3, teratological characters; 4, rudimentary
characters; 5, special physiological characters; 6, eluiracters dependent
on geographical distribulion. Illustrations were given in explanation
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