190 WILLIAM GRIFFITH 



observed however the indication of the canal of the archegonial 

 neck above the young capsule. 



Analogy with Anthoceros confirmed him in his views on the 

 reproduction of ferns. Here he spent much labour in considering 

 the view, originally due to Hedwig, that the ramenta were male 

 organs by the effect of which the sporangia developed. Griffith 

 saw that if this was so, since the sporangia are initiated very 

 early, the only time to search for the male organs was in the 

 very young stage of the leaf. On examining such young leaves 

 he found the terminal cells of the young ramenta very prominent 

 and formed the working hypothesis that they were the male 

 organs. But he stated this cautiously and was well aware how 

 imperfect his means of observation were. 



The whole line of work brings vividly before us how crypto- 

 gamic the Cryptogams were at this period. 



Without attempting to survey Griffith's views on the various 

 groups of Vascular Cryptogams, a word must be said of those 

 on Salvinia and Azolla, on which he published a long paper in 

 addition to the other descriptions and figures in the Notulae. 

 His observations bear on the development of the sorus and 

 sporangium, but he dismissed the microsporangia as abortive 

 or imperfectly developed structures. (I may note in passing 

 that the study of their development led him to regard the micro- 

 sporangia of Isoetes in the same way.) He dwelt on the 

 similarity of the sporangium and indusium of Azolla to a 

 gymnospermus ovule, and regarded the filaments of Anabena 

 seen penetrating within the indusium as probably the fertilising 

 bodies in this naked-seeded cryptogam. 



Thus with a large amount of fresh and original observation 

 Griffith was on wrong lines in his general views and comparison 

 he classed the higher Cryptogams in his Notulae as 



Pistilligerous. Musci. Hepaticae. 



Gymnospermous. Azolla. Salvinia. Chara. 



Cryptogamous. Ferns. Lycopods. Isoetes. Marsilidae. 



Anthocerotidae. Equisetidae. 



Griffith's general views of the reproduction of all the Vascular 

 Cryptogams was necessarily wrong, since the prime clue of the 

 recognition of the prothallus and plant as distinct had not been 



