1908] CURRENT LITERATURE 235 
writers believe that this behavior of the chromatin in Polytrichum supports the 
theory of the individuality of the chromosomes. 
Commenting upon the above results from the standpoint of one not personally 
familiar with mitotic figures in mosses, abundant confirmation is needed before 
the account as a whole can be accepted. We are inclined to believe that the 
observations are largely correct and that the situation is extremely interesting, 
but that the final interpretation will not be so widely divergent from curren 
notions of reduction and fertilization as the one proposed.—CHARLEs J. CHAM- 
BERLAIN. 
Ginkgo.—Under the broad title Ginkgo biloba SpRECHER’ gives a rather 
full account of the genus, arranged according to the following outline: embryo, 
young plant, leaf, secondary structure, flowers, pollen and fertilization, geograph- 
ical distribution, uses and culture, fossils, and conclusions. Instead of giving 
a historical résumé followed by his own investigations, he has simply followed 
the above outline, using the available accounts and illustrations, and then filling 
in the gaps from his own investigations. With so large a subject and so many 
8aps to fill, an exhaustive investigation of any particular feature could hardly 
be expected. Most of the original work deals with floral development, leaf 
development, and anatomy. While the author has studied the gametophyte, it is 
in this field that he is most indebted to previous investigators. A large number 
of abnormalities in ovules, stamens, and sporophylls are recorded. 
Of course there must be a guess at the phylogeny. While the sperms and 
certain characters of the ovules resemble those of cycads, in most respects Gingko 
1s nearer the Taxaceae. Both Ginkgo and the Taxaceae have come from a 
Filicales stock which has given rise to the Cycadophytes and also to the Cordai- 
tales and Ginkgoales, the point of departure being in the neighborhood of the 
fossil Botryopteridaceae. : 
The book will be useful for reference. It should be regarded asa compilation, 
Supplemented by extensive personal observations, rather than as a work in which 
research is the predominant feature—CHaARLES J. CHAMBERLAIN. 
: SHaw® has investigated the vascular anatomy of the ovulate strobilus of 
Ginkgo, chiefly with reference to the morphological nature of the “collar.” From 
aberrant material, which seems to appear abundantly enough under Japanese 
cultivation, it has been inferred that this collar is a much reduced megasporophyll. 
From this current view SHaw dissents, on the basis of testimony obtained from 
the vascular anatomy. The vascular tissue of the collar is “inverted,” and a 
7 SPRECHER, ANDREAS, Le Ginkgo biloba L. pp. 208. figs. 225- Geneve. 1907. 
: * Suaw, F, J. F., A contribution to the anatomy of Ginkgo biloba, New Phytol. 
7°85-92. figs. 16-18. 1908, 
