﻿GERMINATION AND GAMETOPHYTE OF FERNS. 



117 



contained considerable chlorophyll, but the basal cells con- 

 tained none, or only a trace. The starch had also disappeared 

 from all the cells. 



After germinating in light of considerable intensity, cul- 

 tures of several kinds of ferns were transferred to light of an 

 intensity of about 0.002, very diffuse light, when in the 2-4 

 celled stages. 



Dicksonia apiifolia produced elongate prothallia some of 

 which were from 2-4 cells in width near the tip. Alsophila 

 pruinata grew out into tube-like forms. Aneimia phyllitidis 

 grew into tube-like and more branching prothallia. The 

 disappearance of the chlorophyll from the base and the 

 grouping of it near the tips was very noticeable in the Aneimia 

 cultures. 



Cultures of Asplenium filix foemina did not elongate so 

 much as the others, and all the cells contained abundant 



1. GERM-TUBE OF ANEIMIA SHOWING CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT 

 OF CELLS, X 100. 



chlorophyll. None of these cultures produced antheridia in 

 this intensity of light, although they remained from two to 

 three months under this condition. 



Cultures of the same species as mentioned above were ger- 

 minated in Hght and then transferred to stronger light than 

 that of the former experiments, of an intensity of 0.008. In 

 this condition the cultures produced antheridia but no arche- 

 gonia. 



A specially abundant crop of antheridia was produced in a 

 culture of Alsophila pruinata. This culture was first grown 

 in weak light and while still yet having no antheridia was 

 transferred to a position where the light was from al)ovc and 

 of an intensity of .01. Within about a month antheridia de- 



