TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION K. 781 
one species are found continuing in the inner layer of the integument almost to 
the micropyle. 
The bundles running in the outer flesh are mesarch, centripetal xylem some- 
times being developed in great quantity. The presence of this primitive type of 
bundle in the ovules is in itself of interest, as is the comparison of these bundles 
with the mesarch ones in the free fleshy ‘cupule’ of Lagenostoma. 
_ The view is brought forward, chiefly on anatomical grounds, that the inner 
fleshy layer with its system of bundles represents an inner integument. The 
stone layer is considered as a differentiation of the outer flesh, and with its 
distinct system of bundles forms the second or outer integument. The two are 
completely grown together, as is the case in some genera of Rosaceze, &c. 
On the basis of the arrangement of the bundles in the ovule and the supply 
bundles of the sporophyll the genera may be placed in a series, of which Cycas 
is not the ‘most primitive,’ but the least primitive of the group. All the genera 
have approximately radial symmetry but Cycas, which is bilateral and shows dis- 
tinct traces of an original radial symmetry. 
7. A New Leature in the Morphology of the Fern-like Fossil Glossopteris, 
By EK. A, Newett Anser, J/.A. 
This preliminary note records the discovery of small, almost microscopic sac- 
like bodies in association with the ‘ scale-fronds’ of Glossopteris; a fern-like fossil 
abundant in the Permo-Carboniferous rocks of India and the Southern Hemisphere. 
These bodies are oval in form, measuring about 1 mm. along the greater diameter, 
and are prolonged at one extremity into a short and often bent neck; thus 
resembling a retort in shape. The anatomical structure is not preserved, but the 
preservation, as impressions, is very perfect. The sacs are marked by pseudo- 
parallel strize in the direction of their greater axis, and these stricz anastomose at 
intervals. The strie are no doubt the impressions of the cell-walls of the sac. 
The material showing these bodies is at present too scanty to permit of any 
definite conclusion as to their nature, whether sporangial or otherwise. 
8. On Keduction of the Gametophyte in Todea. By Li. A. Boovux, 
It has often been observed that, among the homosporous ferns, germination of 
spores under crowded and unfavourable conditions leads to the production of small 
prothalli bearing antheridia only. 
An extreme case of the formation of dwarf male prothalli occurs in Todea 
Fraseri under certain cultural conditions. The dehiscence of the sporangia may 
be delayed, sometimes permanently, and many of the spores then germinate within 
the sporangia. The early stages of germination may be normal, or more often an 
antheridium is produced almost at once. In the latter case the prothallus proper 
may consist of only two or three cells contained in the burst exosporium, from 
which the antheridium with its basal portion projects. Frequently no rhizoid is 
present. 
If ripe sporangia be artificially ruptured and the spores sown on a damp sub- 
stratum or in water, germination is normal and the prothallus attains a considerable 
size without production of antheridia. Dwarf prothalli bearing antheridia, when 
released from the sporangia and sown, were not found to undergo any further 
growth. 
A comparison of the present case with that of the microspores of Salvinia has 
a special interest, as illustrating how a reduction of the prothallus, approaching 
that shown by the latter plant, may be brought about by the non-dehiscence of the 
sporangium in a species of fern specialised to a very damp habitat, excessive damp- 
ness of the atmosphere being very possibly the direct cause of the suppression of 
dehiscence. 
