1536 Journal of Applied Microscopy 



attention is given to tlie development of the ring. The analytical key of twenty- 

 two pages is in Latin, supplemented by notes in (ierman. Descriptions are 

 given of 244 species, of which about 4(i species, with o5 varieties, are new. The 

 illustrations form a valuable feature of the work, '2:>!l of the 244 species being 

 figured. About two-thirds of the illustrations are original. c. j. c. 



Buller, AH. R. Contributions to our Knowl- Besides malic acid and its salts, many 



edge of the Physiology of the Spermatozoa _ _ ' -' 



of Ferns. Ann. of Botany, 14 : 543-582, Organic and inorganic salts in the cell 

 '9°°- sap have a positive chemotactic stimu- 



lus for the spermatozoa of ferns, but malic acid exerts a stronger influence than 

 any other substance tested. Sugar, alcohols, asparagin, and urea do not attract. 

 The cell sap attracts spermatozoids, but this does not prove that the sap contains 

 malic acid compounds, because the attraction takes place in their absence. 

 Withdrawal of water brings the spermatozoids to rest, but they may recover 

 upon the reabsorption of water. The swarm period for spermatozoa of Gymuo- 

 gramme Martens i is about two hours, much longer than was previously supposed. 

 The starch in the vesicles of spermatozoa disappears during the swarm period. 



c. J. c. 



Golden, Katherine E. Aspergillus oryzje (Ahl- Aspergillus oryzcB \s a mold of consid- 

 burg) Cohn. Proc. Indiana Acad, of Science. , , .• i • , . ^ • ■ 



pp. 1-15, 12 figs. i8q8. erable practical mterest because it is 



claimed that under certain conditions 

 it can be converted into a yeast and that it can give rise to alcoholic fermenta- 

 tion. In Japan it is used in the manufacture of sake', and Takamine, a Japanese 

 chemist, introduced the mold into the United States hoping to do away with the 

 malting of grain in breweries. He took out a patent and introduced it into a 

 brewery, but while fermentation took place, the mold has not superseded yeast. 

 The present paper traces the life history in some detail. Good figures are 

 given of the conidia and mycelium, but an ascosporic stage could not be found. 

 Pure cultures made from material obtained from Takamine and a series of experi- 

 ments have led the writer to conclude that this mold is never, under any cir- 

 cumstances, converted into a yeast and that it does not have the power of 

 inducing alcoholic fermentation. It has been admitted by previous investigators 

 that their cultures were not quite pure. c. j. c. 



Du Sablon, Leclerc. Recherches sur les fleurs Violets, and especially Viola odorata, 

 cleistogames. Revue Generale de Botan- , . • 1 1 • ^ n 



ique. 12: 305-318, figs. 11,1900. ^ave typical cleistogamous flowers. 



The normal flower, which appears 

 early in the spring, has a handsome corolla, but it seldom produces good seed. 

 The inconspicuous cleistogamous flowers which come later, usually after the nor- 

 mal flowers have disappeared, produce an abundance of good seed. The sta- 

 mens are larger in the normal iiowers than in the cleistogamous, but the size of 

 the pollen grains is about the same in both. The structure of the anther wall is 

 quite different, the normal anther having the usual endothecium with lignified 

 thickenings, while in the cleistogamous flowers the endothecial layer retains its 

 nucleus and cytoplasm. After the pollen is mature there is a resting period of 

 various duration. Pollen tubes are then put out which penetrate the wall of the 

 anther at its upper part where there is a region of small cells rich in protoplasm, 

 a tissue comparable to the conductive tissue of the style. Oxalis acctosella, 

 Linaria spuria and Leersia oryzoides were also studied. In typical cleistogamous 

 flowers the pollen germinates within the pollen sac and the structure of the an- 

 ther wall is modified to meet the new mode of pollination. In Li/iaria and 

 Leersia, where the pollen was not observed to germinate within the pollen sac, 

 the anther wall has the same structure as in the normal flower. c. j. c. 



