20 ERYTHEA. 



Fungi found near Boston," and there are short notes by Mr. Walter 

 Deane and other.?. The contributions arc, invariably, of permanent 

 value and will, in many cases, be consulted by the general worker. 

 Such a journal, fresh and attractive as the shrub of the New 

 England bogs whose name it bear.s, should do much to jiwaken a 

 wider interest in the floia of tluit region ;tnd stinmlate local zeal. 



We learn of the death of Dr. Anton Kerner, Ritter von Mari- 

 iauu, professor of botany in the University of Vienna and director 

 of the botanical gardens in that city. No botanical text in this 

 country has ever attained to such immediate and general popularity 

 as the recent translation of his " Natural History of Plants." He 

 was noted for his researches u])Ou pollination. 



A DETAILKD histological investigation of the tiower and embryo 

 of the Isoetes-like LUom ■•mhalala of Western America, by Prof 

 D. H. Campbell, made its appearance in the March, 1898, number 

 of the Awuds of Botan.ij. The flowers are found to be strictly 

 terminal, the apical origin of the anther and ovule being very 

 similar to that of Naias and Zannichellia, previously studied. The 

 inflorescence, which is a spike, is commonly described as having 

 the lowest flowers pistillate, the up{)ermost flowers stamiuate, and 

 the central ones perfect. The author tells us that he has seen cases 

 where all the flowers were staminate, and Hieronymus luis recorded 

 cases where all the flowers were pistillate. The so-called perfect 

 flowers are regarded as probably being a secondary inflorescence 

 made up of two flowers, since there is a division of the priraordium 

 or young shoot into two equal parts, appearing to be a true dichot- 

 omy as occurs in Naias previous to the formation of th.e flower. 

 The lateral origin of the root in the embryo is said to be suggestive 

 of Isoetes, and it is thought possible that the " basal segments of 

 the embryo with the suspensor might be interpreted as equivalent to 

 the foot in the embryo of the Pteridophytes." 



