1919] CURRENT LITERATURE 69 



upon a female gamete well stocked with food reserves, the stimulus of fertiliza- 

 tion being similar to that induced in gall formation. The first sperm '.'vac- 

 cinates" the egg and renders it immune to other sperms. Many further 

 analogies are drawn between sex and parasitism or symbiosis. More interesting 

 is his distinction in higher forms between "sex" and "gender." Sex is purely 

 sporophytic, determined in Mendelian manner by chromosome equipment; 

 "male" signifies "microspore-producing," "female" signifies "megaspore- 

 producing." "Gender" is gametophytic and is lodged in the cytoplasm; the 

 nature of the cytoplasm may show gradations between the two extremes of 

 "androplasmic" (or sperm-producing) and " gynoplasmic " (or egg-producing). 

 Thus in a homosporous pteridophyte the spore is still diploid with reference 

 to gender, which is differentiated later. Gradually the androplasm begins 

 to dominate in some cells, g>^noplasm in others, until at last the cells are 

 sufficiently unlike to fuse again. Which kind dominates in a particular region 

 may be tied up with nutrition. In heterosporous forms "the archesporial 

 tissue of the anthers is predestined normally (chromosomes) to develop into 

 microspores, an environment which favors the dominance of androplasmic 

 protoplasm." To explain hermaphroditic spermatophytes the author states 

 that "the production of anthers or ovaries is a sex or somatic (Mendelian) 

 characteristic, which may show somatic segregation like other somatic char- 

 acters." Carrying these ideas over to man, an effeminate man would be 

 produced from an x zygote in which gynoplasm dominated, a masculine woman 

 from a 2X zygote in which androplasm dominated. The author believes that 

 many of the characteristics popularly associated with one sex only are in reality 

 the common property of both sexes, although in one they may perhaps be 

 limited in their expression. — Merle C. Coulter. 



Mineral absorption in spinach. — In attempting to demonstrate a causal 

 relation between spinach blight and universal malnutrition. True and his 

 colleagues^ subjected spinach to very heavy applications of various fertilizers, 

 both singly and in mixtures. As high as 1500 lbs. per acre of NaCl, NaNOj, 

 and Na2S04, 6 tons of CaCOj, 2 tons of MgCOj, 2000 lbs. of acid phosphate, 

 4000 lbs. of complete fertilizer, and 40 tons of manure were used, .\lthough 

 failing to throw any light on the origin of the blight, the results contribute to 

 our knowledge of mineral absorption by plants. The total ash, and each of 

 its constituents with the exception of manganous oxide, was ahvays greater 

 in amount in the leaves than in the tops. The ash elements fall naturally 

 into two groups: (i) those that are present in quantities that show relatively 

 little variation whatever be the chemicals added to the soil (CaO, MgO, P2O5, 

 SO3, MnO, AI2O3, and Fe^Oj) ; and (2) those which show great fluctuations in 

 the quantity present (SiOa, K2O, and NaaO). The elements of the first group 



5 True, R. H., Black, O. F., and Kelly, J. W., Ash absorption by spinach from 

 concentrated soil solutions. Jour. Agric. Res. 16:15-25. 1919. 



