119 
a 
I 
were grown 
development. 
« 
prothallia bearing the archegonia were like those in most ferns, and 
had the heart shape characteristic of the fern-prothallium. In no 
cases were perfect antheridia found upon these, while, on the other 
hand, none of the male prothallia was found to subsequently develop 
archegonia, although carefully watched. 
The male prothallia were much smaller, and, though sometimes 
heart-shaped, were generally more or 
less irregular. In a few cases, there was 
observed on the prothallia an antheri- 
dium, which consisted simply of a row 
of four or five cells, as shown in the an- 
nexed figure. 
The conditions under which they 
may have affected their 
The spores were sown 
rather thickly under a small glass in an 
ordinary room. These gave rise princi- 
pally to the male prothallia, though a 
few developed into the female form. A 
number of them was transferred, when 
a few weeks old, to a hot-bed, and these 
produced a much larger proportion of 
the female prothallia. 
The spores were gathered the last of March, having therefore re- 
mained on the plants through the winter. They began to germmate 
m five days from the time they were sown. 
It was found that the spores of Onoclea sensihilis gcrmmated with 
equal promptness. 
On examining a number of prothallia of Aspidhim spimdostim, 
gathered on the 17th inst., one was found with a well-marked fibro- 
vascular bundle, although the vessels were not perfect. 
Detroit, Mich. Douglass H. Campbell, 
Cleistogene flowers.— iV^^w^/////^ maculata, Bentb. At Clark's 
I^anch, on the Merced River In California, I found this species wholly 
J 
'" all cleistogamous plants, every flower was fertile, and the weight 
of a small plant covered with-seed vessels was remarkable. Out of 
what must have been many hundreds of plants which came under 
"^y eye, I saw but one flower with a perfect corolla. _ 
. J mpatie Its pallida, Nutt.— Along the coast of Alaska, m lat. 56 , 
'n the early part of July I found I, npaiiens pallida with all the flowers 
^vhich had so far appeared, evidently cleistogene. I could find none 
»'th petals. Two weeks later, farther north, in lat. 59°, I.found the 
same nlnnf Jn o,^t^o*.^v.fiw n^^ c-^^tp. titnoe of flo 
flow 
'ctais, I wo weeks later, tartner nuitu, m — py , . 
plant in apparently the same stage of floweruig, with all the 
"-ers having, or having had, corollas. I could see nothing which 
>^ould suggest any satisfactory reason for the different l>c1^ avion; 
nA....-, r... ^ ,. ^ ^-^ j^ niv warden I have a large bush of 
^q^liniKrh several years old it 
us speces^ i^°\;°number of^mall buds 
nower. Over a year ago a nuuiu^-* 
appeared, but not one opened, or, indeed, advanced beyond a com- 
Opuntia leptocaiilrs, D. C. 
lie long-spined form of ihi; 
nas never borne a fl 
