2 POLLINATION ANt> CROSS-FERTILISATION iN RICE. 



cross-fertilisation in rice has not been studied in detail in India, 

 and in the following notes it is proposed to give a preliminary 

 account of our observations on the subject, as far as the districts 

 of Lower Bengal are concerned. 



II. — Pollination. 



A superficial examination of the flower of rice would lead 

 one to believe that cross-pollination by the agency of the wind 

 was the normal method. Shortly after the opening of the glumes 

 the anthers may be seen hanging downwards from their filaments 

 in such a way as almost to preclude the pollen from reaching the 

 •stigma of the same Hower if dehiscence has not already taken 

 place before this pendent position is reached, and frequently also 

 the two feathery stigmas may be seen protruding one on either 

 side from between the open glumes. Though no work has hitherto 

 been done iti India on the subject, much has been done in other 

 countries, and a brief summary of previous literature is given 

 below. Kuuth* states that the species is allogamous and that 

 the anthers are still closed when they emerge from the glumes, 

 and do not dehisce till after they have bent over and hang down- 

 wards. More recently a Japanese worker, M. Akemine,t has 

 given a detailed account of the morphology of the flower and of 

 the flowering of a race of swamp-rice, known as " Akaghe," occur- 

 ring in Ncjrthern Japan. Only a summaryij of this paper has been 

 aeen by us. According to the sunimary, the author discusses in 

 detail the climatic factors affectino' the flowering and settin^: of 

 the grain, describes the method of pollination, and gives cytolo- 

 gical details regarding the fertilisation process. He gives no 

 cases of the occurrence of cross-fertilisation, and concludes, from 

 observations and experiments on the flower, that self-fertilisation 

 is what usually occurs, pollination according to the writer taking 

 place just before the flowers open T^astly. Fruwirth and Van der 



• Hand-book of Flower Pollination, Vnl. Ill, 1900, p. 621. 



t " On the Flowere and Flowering of O. saliva," Agric. Ga«etto, Nogjo-Sekni, 1'.>10-11. 



♦ Cf. Bot. Centralblatf, No. 41 of 1911, pp. 37(i-7l. 



