34 



THE AMElilCAJS MONTHLY 



[February, 



can be secured in ten minutes one 

 evening, finished in less time the 

 next, and be absolutely secure. 



6. Aphanomyces phycophilas. Dr. 

 L. Brewer Hall. A fungus pene- 

 trating and destroying a fresh-water 

 alga, Spirogyra crassa. Found in 

 1883 in a pond in Fairmount Park, 

 Philadelphia. A good specimen for 

 study. 



A New Journal. — The first num- 

 ber of the Journ. New Tork Micr. 

 Soc. has reached us. It is a very 

 neat pamphlet, which- should receive 

 liberal support from microscopists. 

 It is edited by Mr. Benjamin Braman. 

 The business address is Station .E, 

 New York City. We bespeak for 

 this new pei'iodical a cordial recep- 

 tion wherever it becomes known. 

 It contains two articles in addition to 

 the proceedings of the meetings of 

 October, November and December, 

 and an ' index of articles of interest 

 to microscopists which have recently 

 appeared in other journals.' 

 o 



Pollen Tubes. — Our remarks in 

 the December number of the Jour- 

 nal have received some attention 

 from the Editor of the Botanical 

 Gazette^ who seems, however, dis- 

 posed to criticise our remarks, rather 

 than the hypothesis of which we 

 wrote. The purpose of our few 

 words was, obviously, to draw atten- 

 tion to the subject, and in this we 

 have to some extent succeeded. Hav- 

 ing always disclaimed any special 

 knowledge concerning this subject, 

 we are not particularly hurt by the 

 allusions to our ' lack of information 

 concerning botanical laboratories and 

 methods of to-day.' It is just possible, 

 however, that we are somewhat ac- 

 quainted with the facts concerning 

 botanical laboratories, and the work 

 done in them. If not, is it not partly 

 the fault of the Editor of the Gazette^ 

 of which we have long been a con- 

 stant reader.^ 



In spite of the boldness with which 

 we are berated for our ignorance in 



this matter, we still think the facts 

 are in our favor. The amount of 

 scientific investigation in botanical 

 histology that is being conducted in 

 this country is not very great, and 

 we have not a wonderful array of 

 well-equipped botanical laboratories 

 either. It is not our custom to make 

 assertions in these columns that are 

 not sustained by facts of which we 

 are cognizant. 



It should be observed that the fact 

 of fertilization by the extension of the 

 pollen tubes into the ovary has not 

 been questioned by Mr. Kruttschnitt, 

 so far as we recollect, certainly not 

 by ourselves. The question is sim- 

 ply narrowed down to whether the 

 process of fertilization takes place as 

 described by Mr. Kruttschnitt in the 

 plants which he has studied. It is 

 unjust, therefore, to infer that that 

 gentleman has undertaken to prove 

 ' the descent of the pollen tube to the 

 ovule is a myth.' 



There is no i"eason why we should 

 champion the work of Mr. Krutt- 

 schnitt, and we do not propose to do 

 so. It must stand or fall upon its 

 own merits. But our sympathies 

 and interest have been drawn into it 

 because we have seen the same spirit 

 manifested in this case as has been 

 obstructive to the progress of knowl- 

 edge in every age — a spirit which the 

 world will doubtless eventually out- 

 grow, but which still lives in this 

 century in full vigor. It is the same 

 spirit which asked, so long ago, ' Can 

 any good come out of Nazareth ?' 



Our critic asks, what notice a 

 chemist would give to one denying 

 that hydrogen and oxygen exist in 

 water? The question is not perti- 

 nent. In this case we have the re- 

 sults of careful investigation. As 

 such they are entitled to recognition. 

 To us — although this is of no conse- 

 quence in the discussion — they have 

 seemed to bear out the hypothesis ad- 

 vanced. There are some arguments 

 based upon them which seem very 

 sti'ong. They are enough to deserve 

 attention, and to encourage further 



