Nov., 1903.] The Development of Corn. 5 



on " La Double Fecondation Dans Le Mais." It is much regret- 

 ted that this author produced no drawings with his excellent 

 paper. 



The ovulary of the maize has been defined by Guignard (7) as 

 being constituted of a single carpellary leaf turning its ventral 

 suture from the side of the axis of the ear. In the very young 

 spikelet (Fig. i) the incipient carpel appears in longitudinal sec- 

 tion as two rounded protruberances, due to a depression in the 

 top. The carpel wall begins to develop rapidly on one side, and 

 immediately begins to develop the young silk, or style (Fig. 2). 

 The inner empty glume at this stage is quite prominent and a 

 rudimentary flower appears on the side away from the axis of the 

 ear. The grain grows rapidly from the beginning and the style 

 and ovule soon become more distinct. The silk elongates (Fig. 

 3), and the carpel begins to close, while at the same time the 

 integuments make their appearance, the inner one developing 

 more rapidly than the outer one. At this stage the archesporial 

 cell is becoming prominent. A little later (Fig. 4), the floral 

 organs pecome perfectl}' distinct and the integuments diverge, 

 the inner one inclining toward the ovule and the outer one point- 

 ing toward the opening of the carpel. When the carpel wall 

 closes, there is left a small prominence at its summit. A double 

 funnel effect is produced as the walls close up around this open- 

 ing, the bowls of the funnel arising at the two extremeties (Fig. 

 5). Guignard (7 ) terms this opening the " stylar canal." Later 

 on this canal closes up completely at the lower extremity, but the 

 funnel effect at the top persists throughout (Fig. 10). " It is at 

 the base and upon the inner side of the protuberance," says Guig- 

 nard (7), " that is to say, on the side of the axis of the ear, that 

 the long style of the flower is inserted; the style does not occup}', 

 theti, as one might believe at first glance, the organic summit of 

 the ovary." The writer's observations, as shown by the figures, 

 agree with this statement. In this connection it might be well 

 to call attention to the carpel of Typha as described by Schaft'ner 

 (ri). The development of the carpel and style of this plant 

 appears to be quite similar to that of the coru. The writer saw 

 the pollen tube after fertilization had taken place, but in all the 

 study failed to see its entrance into the canal, through which one 

 might expect it to pass. According to Guignard (7 ) the tube 

 probably passes through the canal, although he does not state 

 that he actually observed it. He describes its course in the fol- 

 lowing terms : "Arrived at the base of the style, the pollen tubes 

 must evidently direct themselves toward the ovarian prominence 

 in order to enter it and to follow the course of the canal which 

 conducts then into the cavity of the ovary." When the 8-celled 

 embr^'o-sac appears (Fig. 5) the nucellus has not greatly enlarged. 

 The semi-anatrophus ovule occupies the base of the cavity of the 



