THE WAY IN WHICH NEW PLANTS ARISE 143 



(§ 193) burst, and these elements find their way to tlie 

 other flaslis where tlie female gametes are developed, 

 and one male gamete fuses with the female gamete, 

 and the new cell thus formed gives rise to an indi- 

 vidual of the other generation, which is the common 

 fern plant. The prothallus form of the fern is then 

 the gametojjJiyte. In the fern the sporophytic gen- 

 eration is seen to be much the larger, and the higher 

 one follows the development of the plant kingdom 

 the greater will be the size of the sporophyte, and 

 the smaller will be the gametophyte. On the other 

 hand the gametophyte attains greater importance 

 in some of the lower forms, as may be seen in the 

 moss. 



198. TJie two generations of the moss. — Secure 

 a clump of a large moss, some of the specimens of 

 which may be seen to be in " fruit." Examine one 

 of the specimens which is not in "fruit." It will 

 be found to consist of a small leafy stem, with per- 

 haps rootlike organs arising from the lower end and 

 furnished with rhizoids for absorption. The upper 

 extremity of the stems bears leafy cups, in which are 

 the organs containing the two kinds of gametes. This 

 is the gametophyte of the moss. The male gametes 



