1898 ] THE GERMINATION OF FERN AND MOSS SPORES 29 
series of experiments in bright light showed that photosyntax 
was not necessary for germination, since the spores had germi- 
nated as readily in the air free from CO, as under ordinary 
conditions, The same result was obtained when the apparatus 
was exposed to less intense illumination by the interposition of 
an opaque screen. Under these conditions the photosyntax 
would be insignificant, and hence it appears evident that germi- 
nation is independent of that process. The influence of light 
in germination must be sought, then, presumably in a transfor- 
mation of food products already present in the spore; these 
chemical changes being initiated by light, and only by the less 
refrangible rays. More in regard to the nature of this transfor- 
mation will be brought forward when later experiments are 
described, 
The question which now presented itself was: Is continued 
exposure to light necessary to germination; in other words, is 
there a light induction? In order to determine this point, cul- 
tures of spores which had been in the dark for twelve hours 
were placed in the light and carefully watched for the first signs 
of germination. After about fourteen hours of illumination the 
spores showed the first signs of germination, in some cases the 
exine being burst; a slight protuberance, the beginning of the 
protonema, was also evident. Half of the cultures were allowed 
to remain in the light as control experiments, while the other 
half were removed to the dark chamber to undergo further 
development. Those spores which showed no beginning of 
germination before removed to the dark did not germinate in 
the dark, although they had formed an abundant chlorophyll 
content. Those spores which had begun to put out a protonemal 
filament continued their growth somewhat, but the filament was 
long and slender and did not attain any considerable size on 
account of lack of plastic material. These experiments were 
carried out with spores of Funaria hygrometrica, Bryum pendulum, 
and Brachythecium rutabulum, all with the same result. Essen- 
tially the same fact has been shown by Borodin” for fern spores. 
* Ibid., 539. 
