Palaeontologie. — Microscopie. 431 



Palaeozoic Fern with Secondary Wood. (Trans. Linn. 

 Soc. London. Ser. 2. VII. p. 373—389. pl. 35-41. 1912.) 



The paper gives a detailed account of a new genus which has 

 been previously shortly described by the author and mentioned by 

 other botanists. The anatomy of the stem, rootlets, petioles and 

 aphlebiae are minutely described, and their bearing on the affinities 

 of the plant considered. 



This fern, which has points of likeness with other members of 

 the Zxgopteyideae is remarkable in having secondary wood which 

 completely replaces the primary periferal xylem-zone. "Nothing 

 like this has been observed elsewhere among Palaeozoic Ferns." 



The Stele is simple and nearly cylindrical, and has a "mixed 

 pith" in the centre consisting, of xylem and parenchyma. Outside 

 this all the wood is 'secondary.' 



The leaf trace wood is also largely secondary, but the petiole 

 has entirely primary wood. 



The adventitious roots are diarch, and may have secondary wood. 



The inclusion of the plant in the Zygopterideae is supported by 

 its petiole structure, and it comes nearer to Metaclepsydropsis than 

 to the other genera. The author holds that the plant lends further 

 Support to the view that the Zygopterideae are allied to the living 

 Ophioglossaceae. M. C. Stopes. 



Stopes, M. C, Petrifactions of the Earliest European 

 Angiosperms, (Phil. Trans, roy. Soc. Ser. B. CCIII. p. 75 — 100. 

 pl. 6—8. 1912.) 



This paper records the existence of Angiosperms in England 

 in Aptian times, i.e. at a geological period when they were sup- 

 posed not to exist in Northern Europe, and describes in detail 

 the anatomy of the stem structure of the specimens which are 

 placed in three new genera. The structure of one of the specimens 

 is beautifully, and of the others, fairly well preserved. 



The specimens are contemporaneous with Bennettites and are 

 the oldest angiosperms of which the anatomy is known. The descri- 

 bed forms are named Wobumia porosa gen. et spec. nov., Sabulia 

 Scottii gen. et sp. nov. and Aptiana radiata gen. et sp. nov. 



A general introduction and a consideration of the geological 

 bearing of the specimens are also given. M. C. Stopes. 



Günther, H. und G. Stehli. Wörterbuch zur Mikroskopie. 



(Handbücher f. d. prakt. naturw. Arbeit. Bd. IX. Franckh'sche 



Verlagshdl, Stuttgart, [o. J.] 96 pp.) 



Ein kleines aber nützliches Büchlein, in dem sich eine Auswahl 

 der wichtigeren und häufiger vorkommenden Fachausdrücke der 

 Mikroskopie zusammengestellt und erläutert findet. „Mikroskopie" 

 begreift dabei sowohl die Wissenschaft von der Einrichtung und 

 dem Gebrauch des Mikroskopes und seiner Nebenapparate, als auch 

 diejenigen Disziplinen der Naturwissenschaft in sich, in denen das 

 Mikroskop überhaupt benutzt wird, also Bakteriologie, Hydrobiologie, 

 Protistenkunde, Algologie, mikroskopische Anatomie der höheren 

 Pflanzen und Tiere u.s.w. Das Buch ist aus praktischer Mitarbeit 

 am „Mikrokosmos" (Zschr. f. prakt. Arbeit auf d. Gebiet der Naturw.) 

 heraus entstanden und in erster Linie für die Teilnehmer des 

 Mikroskosmos bestimmt, jedoch auch separat zu haben. 



Leeke (Neubabelsberg). 



