6 KANSAS UNIVERSITY QUARTERLY. 



Some of the sporangia(?), however, are certainly not slit in the 

 manner described. One specimen of T. ncwberriaua having many 

 of the bodies preserved, has none showing the slit, and when re- 

 moved and mounted they are seen to be round and entire. If we 

 accept the hypothesis that the bodies in question are sporangia, 

 the absence of the cleft in this specimen would naturally find its 

 explanation in the supposition that the sporangia are not yet 

 mature. 



The size and number of the sporangia seem to be characters of 

 specific value. On the group of specimens which I have referred 

 to, T. coriacea, they are proportionally large, readily visible to the 

 eye, more distant and fewer than in the other species. The bodies 

 between the veins of T. newbcrriana (.?) are smaller — although the 

 frond is larger — closer together, and scarcely visible without the 

 aid of a lens. 



When the matrix holding the specimen is opened some of the 

 bodies always adhere to one side and some to the other, so that 

 either side of the specimen shows some in place and casts of others. 

 Under a lens the bodies show distinctly. Examined under a high 

 power with reflected light the details seen with the lens come out 

 more definitely, the bodies appearing bright yellow in contrast with 

 the dark substance of the frond Figures 4 and 5, plate I, are 

 sporangia( ?) taken from a specimen of T. uewbcrriana (/) showing 

 slits, one across the top, the other across the side. Figures 10 and 

 II show two bodies taken from T. coriacea, and figure 12 a cast. 

 All enlarged thirty diameters. 



The bodies may be readily removed from the frond and imbedded 

 and sectioned by grinding. On touching the epidermis with 

 moulding wax many of them adhere and may be transferred to the 

 desired media for sectioning. The author used for this purpose, 

 hardened balsam and sealing wax. Of the numerous sections made 

 none showed conclusive evidence of cellular structure — the one 

 remaining point necessary to prove that the bodies are sporangia. 

 Irregular markings resembling cell walls are often seen, but noth- 

 ing definite. Thin sections under a high power appear minutely 

 granular with redish-yellow granules. Chemical test shows the 

 presence of iron, and other appearances suggest iron oxide as their 

 probable composition. 

 Analogous appearances in other genera of plants — Nilssonia. 



Some species of N^ilssonia Brong., a Mesozoic genus referred to 

 the cycads by some authors, to the ferns by others, have dots be- 

 tween the veins very suggestive of those of Taeniopicrls. The dots 



