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very fai^ from Colombo, near Hauwella, where Lang secured 

 his material of Ophioglossum and Helminthostaehys. A week 

 or more was also spent at the mountain garden of Hakgala and 

 in the vicinity. 0. pendulum, was found to be fairly a]:)undant 

 near llanwella, but the weather was very dry, so that the 

 masses of humus in which the plants were growing were dry 

 as powder and no prothallia could be procured. However, an 

 abundance of ripe spores was secured, from which latter were 

 reared a number of small prothallia. In the low forest near 

 Hanwella, which is subject to regular inundations, Helmintho- 

 stacki/s zetjlanica was very abundant , and a large number 

 of young plants still connected with the gametophyte were 

 obtained, l)ut no young prothallia could be found. Near Hakgala 

 a medium-sized terrestrial species of Ophioglossum, possibly 

 0. reticuldiuin, was common, and a very small number of 

 prothallia with the attached sporophytes were discovered, but 

 not enough to make a detailed study possible. The same, or a 

 very similar species, grew naer Peradeniya, but no prothallia 

 were found. 



On reaching Buitenzorg it was noted that a small Ophio- 

 glossum was extremely common in the garden and elsewhere 

 in the neighborhood. This was considered to be 0. molaccanum 

 ScHLECT., but it soon became evident that there were several 

 distinct forms, probably good species, growing together. Very 

 soon after arriving in Buitenzorg, sowings were made of this 

 species which, unlike the others that have been studied before, 

 was found to germinate very promptly, and repeated sowings 

 were made and the process of germination was carefully studied. 

 A number of older prothallia of this or a similar species was 

 found, and the most important details of its structure were 

 made out. The rare 0. intermedium also occurs near Buitenzorg 

 and the earliest germination stages of this species also were 

 observed, but the amount of material was very small and no 

 complete study of the germination could be made. At Tjibodas, 

 the mountain station of the botanical garden, a species very 

 like the Ceylonese one was extremely abundant, but repeated 



