678 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION K. 
Investigation of these points is in progress, and has, up to the present, 
yielded the following results :— 
Seedling roots, whether germinated in soil or not, are infected, soon after ger- 
mination, with a mycorhizal fungus. 
This infection commonly takes place by a growth of hyphe from the seed coat, 
which grow across and infect the root of the young seedling. 
Seeds can be successfully sterilised by immersion in 1 per cent. solution of 
corrosive sublimate for one to two minutes and germinated in a perfectly sterile 
condition on agar plates. 
Germination under such conditions takes place normally and the seedlings 
start growth in the usual way. 
Such sterile seedlings are being grown under sterile conditions in sand and in 
agar nutrient media. 
Some work has been done on the cultivation of the mycorhizal fungus and on 
the isolation of bacteria constantly associated with the roots under unfavourable 
conditions. 
d. A New Jurassic Member of the Marattiacee. 
By H. Hamsuaw Tuomas, M.A. 
Among the recent additions to the Jurassic flora of Yorkshire is a fern which 
I have called Marattiopsis anglica. It is characterised by the possession of 
pinne which are sometimes 30 cm. long, each with a stout midrib and secondary 
veins which dichotomise only very near their origin. The fertile fronds are 
similar in form to the sterile, but bear large synangia on their veins; these 
usually occupy most of the space between the midrib and the margin. In some 
cases the remains of the young unopened synangia with rounded ends are seen, 
but in other specimens dehiscence had taken place before preservation, and the 
two halves are apparent, one on either side of the vein, and each showing a con- 
siderable number of loculi. The synangia were evidently of a stout texture, 
and had an outer layer composed of rounded cuticularised cells. The spores 
were small (30 » in diameter), and had a roughed appearance due to the presence 
of numerous small projections; they do not exhibit clearly a tetrahedral scar, 
but sometimes appear to possess a simple scar. These spores are almost identical 
in size with those of the modern Angiopteris. In all the points of structure 
which we are able to observe, Marattiopsis anglica closely resembles a recent 
Marattia. It is closely allied to the Rhietic M/arattiopsis Miinsteri, which was 
indeed placed by Schimper in the modern genus. 
The evidence from this Yorkshire form makes it clear that a group of ferns 
existed in the Mesozoic period which were very similar to the modern Marattias. 
Other forms have been found in various localities which can be assigned with 
some confidence to the Marattiales, especially Nathorstia and Daneites. On 
the other hand some of the fronds which were thought to be sterile specimens 
of Marattiaceous affinities are probably the remains of Bennettitalean fronds. 
In the case of the well-known 7'eniopteris vittata from Yorkshire, the epidermal 
structure points to its inclusion among the Bennettitales. 
The presence of Marattiaceous ferns in the Carboniferous period is well 
established, and it is increasingly probable that some of the modern types were 
differentiated at an early period in the Mesozoic, and must be regarded as the 
most ancient of our ferns. 
6. On the Structure and Affinities of a New Specimen of Sutcliffia. 
By E. vp Fratne, D.Sc. 
This fossil stem is attributed to the genus Swétcliffia on account of the close 
correspondence in general strifttture and histological details. It is provisionally 
regarded as representing an older stage of a small specimen of Suteliffia insignis 
(Scott). A wide, irregular zone of secondary cortex lies immediately beyond 
the ‘ pericycle,’ and limits the fossil, all the outer tissues having been exfoliated. 
The stele and ‘meristeles’ are surrounded by a great thickness of secondary 
tissue. 
The vascular system is further complicated by the presence of anastomosing 
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