Page:The Journal of Indian Botany.djvu/549

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON CYCAS IN LAHORE. 117 Ten plants were propagated by buds from the female plants growing in the garden, and were kept in pots under uniform condi- tions. Observations were commenced when the plants were five or sis years old. All the plants except No. 1 were in pots of the same size.

The former was in a large pot, it was the largest and probably the oldest. The pots of three plants got broken once at different times and were changed at once. It is however unfortunately not recorded what Avere the numbers of these plants. As is well known all the leaves do not appear quite simultaneously, but they arise gradually in some spiral, though the whole cluster is one unit.

The foliage leaves are always followed by scale-leaves. The number of leaves in each cluster in these plants varied between 6 and 20, the largest number being found in No. 1. In the rest the varia- tion was not so great. None of these plants has so far produced any sporophylls- The following table gives the times at which the clusters of foliage leaves appeared during the two years for which the plants were kept under observation. The formation of the cluster is indicated by an asterisk under the month in which it was unfolded.

1 Took a long time, about a month to unfold, Ordinarily the clusters iu all plants unfolded within ten days.

9 Stopped unfolding after a few days and the leaves fully opened only in the beginning of April, 1917 ( Vide entry there).

3 Ouly two leaves appeared at this time. Three more appeared after middle of July when the former were almost fully expanded. No scales were formed after the first two. The five thus belonged to the same cluster, the last three being for some reason or other delayed in their appearance.