MARCH. 63 



and float north in the direction of New Zealand the whole 

 body of ocean water surrounding these islands is lowered 

 in temperature, and as a consequence the atmosphere over 

 this body of chilled water is considerably cooled also. If, 

 on the other hand, the main disengagement of ice takes 

 place some hundreds or thousands of miles further west, 

 and the Southern Ocean between Kerguelen Island and 

 Australia is cooled by icebergs, then the temperature of 

 the air, especially in the coastal regions of Australia, will 

 be correspondingly lowered, and much more wet and cold 

 weather may be expected there. Some such explanation 

 may be the right one for the present distribution of fino 

 and bad weather in these southern regions. 



IT. 



March is perhaps the best month in the year for collecting 

 ferns, for nearly all the species are now to be found in 

 spore. Spores are not seeds, though they represent one of 

 the reproductive stages of the plant. Let me try tojnake 

 this clear. In an ordinary flowering plant, such as a 

 poppy, two kinds of reproductive cells are produced within 

 the same flower, the male element being found within the 

 pollen grain, and the female within the little rudimentary 

 seed or ovule, which, again, is enclosed in the pistil. By 

 the interaction of these cells a new germ is produced, 

 which is nourished and developed to a certain extent 

 within the parent plant. The extent to which this develop- 

 ment is carried varies in different plants. Some, like peas 

 and cabbages, develop the embryo to a very large extent, 

 so that within the mature seed may be observed a little 

 stem, two leaves, and a rudimentary root, the leaves 

 usually containing some nutrient material for the fviture 

 plant to feed upon. In others, like buttercups, the embryo 

 grows to a very limited extent ; it is left almost undeveloped, 

 and there is laid up beside it a little store of food material 

 for it to feed upon. Every seed, then, represents a young 

 plant which has been reared up to a certain point by the 

 parent organism and which has entered upon a resting 



