BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, ETC. 819 



with as quickly as possible, and an additional assistant was given 

 him that he might have more time for its supervision." 



At the meeting of the Linnean Society on June 17th, Dr. D. H. 

 Scott, F.R.S., exhibited original preparations by Prof. Ikeno and 

 Dr. Hirase, of Tokio, Japan, illustrating their discovery of sperma- 

 tozoids in two Gymnospermous Phanerogams, namely, Ginkgo 

 hiluha and Cycas revuhita (cf. Bot. L'entralblatt, Bd. Ixix. nos. 1-2, 

 1897, and Annals of Botamj, June, 1897). The slides showed the 

 spermatozoids while still in the pollen-tube, before the commence- 

 ment of active movement. In the case of Ginkgo one section showed 

 the two male generative cells, closely contiguous and enclosed in the 

 pollen-tube. The general structure resembles that in many other 

 Conifers at the same stage, e.g. Jiiniperus vin/iniana and Pinus 

 si/lvestris (Strasburger, Hist. Beitriitje, iv. pi. 2). In Ginkgo, how- 

 ever, each generative cell showed a distinct spiral coil, situated 

 in each cell, on the side remote from its neighbour. Another 

 preparation of Ginhjo showed a series of sections across the 

 micropyle, passing through a pollen-tube and its generative cells, 

 the plane of section being in this case approximately parallel to 

 the surface of contact of these two cells, through which four of the 

 sections passed. In the two terminal sections of this series the 

 spiral coil was clearly shown, consisting of about three windings. 

 The spiral is connected with the nucleus of the cell, but whether it 

 is itself of nuclear or cytoplasmic origin is not certain. In the 

 preparation from Cycas recoluta, several pairs of generative cells 

 were shown ; in some cases the pollen-tube enclosing them was 

 intact. The spiral coils in some of the generative cells were sur- 

 prisingly clear, consisting of about four windings. A distinct 

 striation was visible in connection with the coil, probably indi- 

 cating the presence of the numerous cilia described by the Japanese 

 discoverers. The facts admit of no other interpretation than that 

 given by these authors, namely, that in both Ginkgo and Cycas each 

 generative cell gives rise to a special spermatozoid ; the latter by 

 its own movements (actually observed by Dr. Hirase in the case of 

 Ginkgo] no doubt travels from the end of the pollen-tube to the 

 female cell. 



At the same meeting Mr. Miller Christy, F.L.S., read a paper 

 on Primula elatior Jacq. in Britain. He remarked that this widely- 

 distributed continental plant, though figured accidentally in English 

 Botany in 1799, was not really detected in Britain till 1842, to 

 which time the totally distinct hybrid oxlip (P. acaulis x veris) 

 was, by British botanists, confused with and mistaken for it, as is 

 still frequently the case. In Britain, P. elatior occupies a shai'ply- 

 defined area, divided by the valley of the Cam, with only two 

 outlying localities, so far as Mr. Christy could ascertain. This 

 area covers the two most elevated and unbroken portions of the 

 boulder clay district, the loams and gravels of the river-valleys and 

 the chalk being entirely avoided. The boundary-lines (some 175 

 miles in length) which had been traced by Mr. Christy with precision 

 were, in consequence, very sinuous. They enclosed together about 



