254 GENETICS [Bot. Absts., Vol. VI, 



A field with plots of immune and susceptible kinds of barley was the following year planted 

 with a single kind of oats. This plantation developed itself very differently at different 

 spots, which corresponded in a surprising degree to the barley plots of the previous year. — 

 K. V. Ossian Dahlgren. 



1732. Nonidez, Jose F. The meiotic phenomena in the spermatogenesis of Blaps, with 

 special reference to the X-complex. Jour. Morph. 34: 69-117. 6 pi., 2 diagrams. June 20, 

 1920. — In the spermatogonial mitoses of B. lusitanica thirty-five chromosomes occur, three 

 of which are remarkably large. During synapsis the three large chromosomes and two of the 

 smaller unite to form the X-complex, while the other chromosomes pair to form fifteen biva- 

 lents. Of the large chromosomes, two that appear to be homologous are termed M-chromo- 

 somes, while the third corresponds to the accessory or X-chromosome of other forms. In the 

 first maturation mitosis the X-complex undergoes dissociation, four chromosomes — two large 

 and two small — passing to one cell, while the third large chromosome — an M-chromosome — 

 enters the other. The final result is the production of two kinds of spermatozoa; one with 

 nineteen chromosomes, the other with only sixteen. The X-complex seems to represent an 

 intermediate condition between complexes made up exclusively of sex chromosomes and 

 those originated by the linkage of a sex chromosome with a pair of ordinary chromosomes. — 

 Bertram G. Smith. 



1733. Oberstein, O. Uber das Vorkommen echter Knospenvariationen bei pommerschen 

 und anderen Kartoffelsorten. [Occurrence of true bud-variation in Pomeranian and other 

 varieties of potatoes.] Kartoffelbau 1919, No. 2 and Deutsch. Landw. Presse 1919:560-561. 

 1 pi. 1919. — Author dissents from views that bud variations are so uncommon as to warrant 

 adverse judgment on a variety when the number of deviating plants per hectare reaches four. 

 He emphasizes frequent occurrence of bud variations, at least in some varieties. Such fre- 

 quency should be proven before being accepted by seed experts. A Silesian agricultural 

 society passes judgment against such sorts only when number of plants deviating in flower 

 color exceeds 5 per cent. A standard of proof for existence of this variability is described. 

 Illustrative cases observed by author in several varieties are cited. [From anonymous 

 review in Zeitschr. Pflanzenzucht. 7: 135. Dec., 1919.] — J. P. Kelly. 



1734. Painter, Theophiltjs S. The spermatogenesis of Anolis carolinensis. Anat. Rec. 

 17: 328. Jan., 1920. — Author's abstract of paper read before the American Society of Zoolo- 

 gists, St. Louis, December 30, 1919.— The spermatogenesis of reptiles has not received the 

 attention of cytologists heretofore, although the position of the group in the Vertebrate 

 Series and especially the peculiar behavior of the chromosomes as reported for the birds 

 and mammals, make such a study very desirable. The author has been making a comparative 

 study of the spermatogenesis of the lizards common near Austin, Texas. Anolis carolinensis, 

 the 'American chameleon," has yielded preparations in which the chromosomes show with 

 clear-cut distinctness, and it has been possible to follow practically all of the chromosomes 

 from the spermatogonial divisions to the formation of the mature sperm. — Two points of 

 especial interest have been found. — What appears to be a typical "accessory" or sex-chromo- 

 some is found in the first maturation division; it is bipartite in character and goes undivided 

 to one pole of the spindle. In the second maturation division, the sex-chromosome, when 

 present, divides. The sperms are dimorphic as regards the sex-chromosome, half are with, 

 and half are without, this body. There is no trace of degenerating sperms. — The autosome 

 complex of Anolis consists of ten large chromosomes and twenty-two smaller bodies. (This 

 condition, a few large chromosomes and a greater number of small chromosomes, seems typi- 

 cal for all the lizards studied.) The autosomes behave normally during maturation. In 

 the first and second spermatocyte divisions, five large and eleven small chromosomes are seen 

 (in addition to the sex-chromosome), and these divide in the usual way. There is no sign 

 of a "double reduction," such as has been reported for birds and some mammals. In this 

 reptile, the chromosomes differ in no respect from what is found in the insects and other 

 invertebrates. — Theophilus S. Painter. 



