86 



small as yet, while in those of fig. 5 it has reached a consi- 

 derable size. It will be seen from the pictures on this plate 

 that if one collects the unfertilised flowers of fig. 4, 5, 6 and 

 7 one has an apparently fine series of consecutive stages for 

 embryological study. As the collecting ground in Buitenzorg 

 is rather distant from the laboratory and as the sojourns I 

 could make in Buitenzorg were very short, while even then 

 I had to devote by far the greater part of my time to other 

 work, I had most of my material collected by a native her- 

 borist who was ordered to put the separate flowers at once in 

 alcohol on the spot. Many an apparently fine series of unfertilised 

 flowers I have thus obtained! It is only owing to the excee- 

 dingly large amount of material thus brought together that I 

 have gotten the results I have. Yet a botanist with all his 

 time at his disposal taking up his abode in a kampong w^here 

 male and female trees are cultivated close together and taking 

 his microscope and preserving fluids with him could obtain a 

 fine series in a much shorter time than I did mine. 



METHODS EMPLOYED. 



Nearly all the sections drawn on the accompanying plates 

 have been obtained by free-hand cutting. Work was started 

 almost exclusively with the microtome, with the result that 

 the images obtained could not be interpreted and, I am sure, 

 never would have been, if microtome sectioning had not been 

 abandoned. It shows once more that the microtome is good 

 for detail study after one knows the general lay of the things 

 but is misleading in all cases where considerably bended and 

 twisted organs occur as for exemple here in the case of the 

 proembryo's. On the other hand I expect to use it extensively 

 in the studies about the details of fertilisation of Gnetum 

 Gnemon as I have done allready with Gnetum molluccanum. 



The material here used was nearly all preserved by the aid of 

 strong alcohol only which for our present aims is suflicient, but I 

 can state now allready from my experience with Gnetum molluc- 



