102 



more so as the two parts of the Gnetum Griemon embryosac 

 behave later on in a totally different and independant manner 

 and as I once found an embryosac of Gnetum Ula, divided by 

 a cross w^all. 



This view v^as certainly a w^ay out off the difficulty of inter- 

 preting the embryosac of Gn. Gnemon and in tracing the cel- 

 lular-ancestry of the embryosac of Gnetum Gnemon (see red 

 lines in the figures boiTowed of Strasburger) I could prove 

 that the embryosac of Gnetum Gnemon arose by the division 

 of an embryosac mothercell into two cells, each of which is 

 able to develop to an embryosac. 



As a macrospore mothercell among the Pteridophytes gives 

 rise to four macrospores I thought my view as to the bisporal 

 nature of the Gnetum-embryosac much strengthened. Meeting 

 thusfar with success on the slippery road of speculation I 

 thought I might go a little further and try to find the same 

 thing true for one or the other of the Angiosperms. For rea- 

 sons to be stated below Balanophora would be exceedingly 

 welcome. A perusal of Treub's memoir really proved that the 

 mothercell of the embryosac divides but once in forming the 

 latter. This of course lead to the consideration of the question 

 whether all Angiospermic embryosacs might not be of a bisporal 

 nature. The circumstance that my speculations were rooted in 

 facts viz. the cellular-ancestry of the embryosac, made me write 

 them out and send them ^ to Dr. Treub , begging him to 

 forward his judgement to me. This was very unfavorable 

 to my views. Dr. Treub states that the base of my specula- 

 tion is wrong, in as much as there is no reason to suppose 

 that the Angiosperms should divide their macrosporemothercell 

 in the original way, that on the other hand we have much 

 reason to accept that „for the macrospores of the Phanerogams 

 the original loay of division of the mothercell has been lost!' 1 must 

 acknowledge having lost sight of this important point and as 

 I agree perfectly with Dr. Treub's objection there is no reason 

 to attribute a bisporal nature to the embryosac of Gnetum. 



This view having thus been discarded the question must be 



