1885.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



35 



research in order to settle the ques- 

 tion. We are told that valuable work 

 is appreciated by every botanist. 

 Doubtless it is, but doubtless also a 

 loner time is required tor botanists, 

 as for other scientific persons, to learn 

 just what is valuable. 



A correspondent, who has given 

 some attention to this subject, in- 

 stances the common Indian corn, 

 St /'amnion i urn, and other plants hav- 

 ing very long styles, and says 'imag- 

 ine the length of a pollen tube needed 

 to reach the ovary I' 



We would like to know what our 

 critic would have us infer from the 

 concluding sentence of his article? 

 If he means that in Mr. Kruttschnitt's 

 preparations he found pollen tubes in 

 the ovaries, then he need only say so 

 to settle the question. If he did not 

 find them there it is unjust not to say 

 so. If they are not there can he tell 

 us why they are not there.'' We 

 trust something more than the very 

 non-committal verdict of • not proven ' 

 has resulted from his observations. 



Since this article was written a 

 criticism of Mr. Kruttschnitt's papers 

 by Mr. N. L. Britton has appeared 

 in the Jourti. N. T. Micr. Soc. 

 We commend this article to all who 

 are interested in the subject, as an 

 excellent review of the bibliography 

 concerning it. We cannot believe, 

 however, in spite of the great array 

 of authorities, and the rather intole- 

 rant spirit of the author regarding 

 Mr. Kruttschnitt's conclusions, that 

 the field has been thoroughly ex- 

 plored. As suggested some time ago, 

 we would like to know the different 

 stages through which the process of 

 fertilization has passed before it at- 

 tained the perfection now observed 

 in many plants. Is it not still possi- 

 ble that we shall find plants in which 

 the fertilization is efi'ected in a more 

 primitive manner.*' Or, on the other 

 hand, may it not be possible that a 

 still higher organization will make 

 pollen tubes unnecessary, and lead to 

 their abortion in the plant.'' If these 

 questions are speculative, they are 



still reasonable, and worthy of some 

 thought, as could easily be shown 

 did not our limited space preclude 

 more extended discussion of the sub- 

 ject. 



o 



The Genera of Alg.*;. — A series 

 of articles will be published this year, 

 written by the Editor, entitled ' Key 

 to the Genera of Fresh-water Algie,' 

 which, it is hoped, will prove of ser- 

 vice to those who wish to study that 

 interesting class of plants. The sys- 

 tem of classification adopted is essen- 

 tially that of O. Kirchner, although 

 the arrangement of the genera corre- 

 sponds to that of most older works, 

 and follows closely that of Rabenhorst, 

 and the later publication of Cooke. 

 ' British Fresh-water Algai.' Kirch- 

 ner begins with the higher forms and 

 leads down to the simpler ones. We 

 have preferred to follow the other 

 plan, which begins with the simplest 

 and leads up to the more complex 

 forms. 



It is probable that during the pres- 

 ent year the demands upon our time 

 will prevent the regular publication 

 of these articles. We can hardly 

 expect to prepare one each month ; 

 for the work must be done very care- 

 fully if it is to be valuable for the 

 purpose intended. We can only 

 promise to do what time permits, 

 and trust that our readers will find 

 the articles of value. It is intended 

 to represent most of the genera de- 

 scribed bv outline sketches. 



Among the Dealers. — During 

 the holidays we had occasion to visit 

 Philadelphia and New York, which 

 afforded an opportunitv to call upon 

 some of the well-known dealers, and 

 to look over the new products of their 

 factories. We first called upon Mr. 

 Walmsley, who was busy enough 

 with his holiday orders. He has 

 one of the most attractive places on 

 Chestnut street, and evidently does a 

 large business in microscopes and 

 photographic apparatus. Unfortu- 

 nately, we are not quite at libertv to 



