BOTANICAL GAZET7E. 75 



mostly those of the two different anthers; next the style elevates itself, 

 and so the stigma comes out of the narrow slit in the sheath, and 

 receives pollen from some of the older spadices. 



After fertilization the thread like stigmas disappear and at the same 

 moment will be found clusters of as yet unopened anthers around the 

 stigmaless gyncecia, these now having fertilized ovules. This was 

 probably the stage observed by Hofmeister when he described the 

 fertilization as taking place inside the unopened inflorescence. Cer- 

 tainly the anther lobes are not at this stage always emptied of their 

 contents, and certainly when the emptying takes place the gyncecia 

 are often beyond the power of being fertilized. 



The condition of the buds also engaged Engler's attention, because 

 the sympodial bud system appeared similar to many Aracere. The 

 miin shoot develops sterile buds from the axil of the nodal scale and 

 then after developing 4 to 6 internodes in the mud grows upward, 

 giving rise to leaves frequently a metre long but never in the same 

 year is inflorescence observed. In the axils of the lower leaves fer- 

 tile buds are developed which lie alternately to right and left of the 

 main axis. These grow for a great while along with the main axis, 

 the axis of growth thus presenting a flattened cone-sh.iped form with 

 two furrows superim|)Osed on a cylindrical axis. — C. R. R. 



AsPLENiUM Bradlevi. — During the fall of 1876 while collecting 

 ferns on White River, in northwestern Arkansas, a few specimens of 

 Aspleniuin Bradlevi v^'qvq found. Since then, by searching closely 

 several localities have been discovered, which have yielded some fine 

 specimens. The species seems to grow upon sandstone, exclusively, 

 as it has not been found on any other formation, and to require situa- 

 tions more or less shaded. 



As the plant had never before been found west of the Mississippi 

 River, the discovery is important, because it .shows a greater geo- 

 graphical range than the species was supposed to have. It occurs in 

 Kentucky and East Tennessee, and probably will be found across the 

 northern part of this state. The species is not confined to the 

 streams, but has been found upon isolated ledges several miles in- 

 land. 



Notholcena dealbata, Kunze, grows in northwestern Arkansas abund- 

 antly, on limestone ledges which are isolated and have a southern ex- 

 ])osure. This species, so far as I know, has never been reported from 

 this state, nor farther south than Kansas.— F. L. Harvp-.v, Ark. Ind. 

 Univ., Fayettevillc, Ark. 



Reply TO Mr. Meehan's Criticisms.— y^(/?///(;i,'v<'' chrysantlia. In 

 Mr. Meehan's observations on the Wheeler Report "it does not strike 

 those acquainted with the" book and its contents "as being particular- 

 ly careful records of the facts." For Rothrock says that A. chrvsan- 

 tha is "hard to distinguish from A. acrulea by any mere description, 

 as they exhibit transition at all points" (Wheeler Rep., p 59, lines i 

 and 2). This is not only a similar observation, but also a stronger 



