Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



183 



between the Pteridophytes and Sperma- 

 topyhtes. Engler has removed Gingko 

 from the Conifers and placed it by itself 

 in the Gingkoales, a group co-ordinate 

 with Cycads, Conifers, and Gnetums. 



In the opinion of the reviewer the 

 structures described by the various 

 writers under the name of centrosome, 

 centrosome-like body, or blepharoplast 

 are not only homologous organs, but are 

 genuine centrosomes as the term is 

 understood by Zoologists. C. J. C. 



Fugii, K. Has the Spermotozoid of Gingko a tail 

 or not? Bot. Magazine (Tokyo, Japan) 13 : 287- 

 290, 1898. 



This article, unfortunately written in 

 Japanese, records observations upon the 

 movements and structure of Gingko 

 spermatozoids. While admitting that 

 Hirase's figures show the appendage 

 figured in his plates, the author is unwill- 

 ing to regard the appendage as a genuine 

 tail, but thinks it must be explained in 

 some other way. Fujii failed to find 

 such an appendage. C. J. C. 



Sha\%', Walter R. Ueber die Blepharoplasten bei 

 Onoclea und Marsilia. Ber. d. deutsch, Bot. 

 Gez. 16 : 177-184, 1898. 



In both Onoclea and Marsilia the eight 

 secondary. Spermatocytes contain each 

 a pair of blepharoplasts, and the sixteen 

 spermatids which become transformed 

 into the spermatozoids have each a 

 single blepharoplast. In Marsilia two 

 bodies resembling blepharoplasts were 

 observed in each of the primary sper- 

 matocytes. The author believes that the 

 blepharoplasts, which give rise to the 

 cilia of the antherozoids, are not to be 

 identified with centrosomes. C. J. C. 



Sliaw, Walter R. The Fertilization of Onoclea, 

 Ann. Bot. 12 : 261-285, 1898. 



The spermatozoid which consists of a 

 corkscrew-shaped nucleus with a lateral 

 band of cytoplasm, does not change in 

 form or structure until after it enters 

 the egg nucleus and even then its posi- 

 tion can be distinguished for a long time. 

 Throughout fertilization the egg nucleus 

 is in the resting condition. The first 

 division of the embryo takes place eight 

 or ten days after fertilization. 



This paper and the preceding work of 

 Hirase, Ikeno, Webber, and particularly 

 of Belajeff, who studied the spermato- 

 zoids of Ferns and Equisetum, have 

 added immensely to the evidence accu- 

 mulating against theories of heredity 

 based upon the nucleus alone. C. J. C. 



Scliaffner, John H. Karv'okinesis in the root tips 

 of Allium cepa. Bot. Gaz. 26 : 225-288, 1898. 



Centrosomes are found in both resting 

 and dividing cells. The achromatic 

 spindle first appears as two flattened, 

 dome-shaped prominences at opposite 

 poles of the nucleus, apparently arising 



from the two opposite centrospheres. 

 The spindle becomes quite pointed before 

 the disappearance of the nuclear mem- 

 brane. Mottier, Osterhout, and others 

 who deny the presence of centrosomes in 

 higher plants have described an entirely 

 different method of spindle formation. 

 According to these writers, the spindle 

 appears as cytoplasmic radiations about 

 the nucleus; these radiations become 

 grouped into multipolar spindles, which 

 are gradually transformed into bibolar 

 spindles. Schaffner thinks that multi- 

 polar spindles arise only through patho- 

 logical conditions or imperfect technique. 



C. J. C. 



Fuliner, Edward L,. Cell division in Pine seed- 

 lings. Bot. Gaz. 36 : 239-246, 1898. 



The method of spindle formation is the 

 same as that described above by Schaff- 

 ner. No multipolar spindles were found. 

 Root tips and cotyledons of germinating 

 seeds were killed in Chrom-acetic acid 

 and in Fleming's stronger solution. The 

 safranin gentian violet-orange combina- 

 tion and Haidenhain's iron alum 

 haematoxylin were the principal stains 

 used. 



It must be remembered that Schaffner 

 and Fulmer have dealt with the vegeta- 

 tive cells while Strasburger's pupils of 

 the Bonn Institute have based their con- 

 clusions upon karyokinesis in reproduc- 

 tive cells. C. J. C. 



Ward, H. Marshall. Some Thames Bacteria. 

 Ann. Bot. 12 : 287-319, 1898. 



To the general botanist the most inter- 

 esting feature of this paper is the refer- 

 ence to the relationships of the Bacteria. 

 He suggests that the endosporous bacilli 

 may not have come from the Cyano- 

 phyceae, but from the Chorophyceae. The 

 Chlamydobacteriaceae have probably 

 had a different origin from the other 

 Schizomycetes, the Schizosaccharomyce- 

 tes suggest relation to the yeasts and 

 the Myxobacteriaceae point to the 

 Myxomycetes. "We should be prepared to 

 accept that the morphological relation- 

 ships of the minute organisms grouped 

 together as Schizomycetes are neither 

 few nor simple and that their phylogeny 

 is probably not even comparable with a 

 complex tree form, but is multiple in its 

 origin." C. J. C. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



(It is hoped to make such references 

 much more numerous in the future.) 



Hof, A. C. Histologisehe Stiidien an Vegetations 

 punkten. Bot. Centralb. 76 : 65-69, 1898. 



Juel, H. O. Die Kerntheilung in den Basidien 

 und die Phylogenie der Basidiomyceten. Jahrb. 

 f. wiss. bot. 33 : 361-388, 1898. 



Salter, J. H. Zur naheren Kentniss der Starke 

 Korner. Jahrb. f. wiss. bot. 32 : 117-166, 1898. 



University of Chicago. 



