170, 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 214. 



joined with the AfiBiliated Societies in the 

 entertainments of Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day evenings, and in the annual discussion 

 on Thursday afternoon. On Friday a visit 

 was made to the ISTew York Botanical 

 Garden, where the grounds and buildings 

 were shown and explained by the Director, 

 Dr. N. L. Britton. At the business meet- 

 ing the following officers were elected for 

 the ensuing year : President, Dr. J. M. 

 Macfarlane ; Vice-Presidents, Professor G. 

 F. Atkinson and Professor D. P. Penhallow; 

 Secretary, Dr. W. F. Ganong. The following 

 new members were elected : Messrs. F. C. 

 Stewart, C. O. Townsend, F. C. JSTewcombe, 

 B. D. Halsted, J. B. Pollock, D. S. John- 

 son, L. M. Underwood, M. B. Waite. The 

 President, Dr. W. G. Farlow, presided over 

 the sessions, at which the following papers 

 were read. Detailed abstracts of these will 

 appear in the February number of the 

 Botanical Gazette: 



Some Peculiar Morphological Features of Pau- 

 lownia imperialis : Dr. J. W. Harshbeeger, 

 I University of Pennsj-lvania. — This paper 

 contained a discussion of noteworthy ana- 

 tomical, ecological and morphological fsa- 

 tures in this introduced tree, particularly in 

 buds, flowers, fruits and petioles. 



Tlie Life-history of Leuchtenbergia principis 

 (abstract) : Dr. W. F. Ganong, Smith 

 College. — This paper is an attempt at a 

 complete life-history of this rare and highly 

 specialized species of Cactaceae, whose de- 

 velopment has hitherto been quite unknown. 

 This contribution is offered as the first of 

 a series of life- histories in this family in- 

 tended to supply data for a better under- 

 standing of phylogeny and of principles of 

 morphology and ecology. 



Observations upon Root-tubercles : Profes- 

 sor B. D. Halsted, New Jersey Agricultural 

 College. — The author's observations showed 

 that the root tubercles on spring-grown 

 beans of a certain variety are much more 

 abundant than upon autumn-grown plants 



of the same variety grown in the same soil. 

 He discusses the reasons for this, finding 

 that of temperature, directly or indirectly, 

 most important, and points out the bearing 

 of his facts upon some others which have 

 puzzled students of the subject. 



Further Notes on the Embryology of the Eitbi- 

 acew : Mr. F. E. Lloyd, Teachers' College. 

 — The author described very peculiar fea- 

 tures in the development of the ovule and 

 seed in several members of this family, in- 

 cluding the development of as many as 

 eight or ten macrospores in one ovule, vei-y 

 large antipodal cells, and the development 

 of haustoria from the suspensor which 

 absorb the endosperm. 



The Inflorescences and Flowers of Polygala 

 piolygama : Mr. Charles H. Shaw, University 

 of Pennsylvania. — In this paper it is pointed 

 out that in this well-known species there 

 are, in addition to the commonly recognized 

 aerial and subterranean cleistogamic blos- 

 soms, other green cleistogamic blossoms 

 borne above ground, the characters of which 

 are remarkably intermediate between those 

 of the other two kinds. A full comparison 

 of characters makes this plain. 



Observations on some Monocotyledonous Em- 

 bryo-sacs : Mr. R. E. B. McKenney, Uni- 

 versity of Pennsylvania. — The author de- 

 scribed an unusual method of development 

 of the embryo-sac in two species of Scilla, 

 and discussed its significance. Incidentally 

 he gave attention to the centrosome ques- 

 tion, and was unable to find them in any 

 of the stages studied, thus confirming the 

 work of Mottier and others who doubt their 

 occurrence in the higher plants. 



The Structure and Relation of the Crystal Cells 

 in Sensitive Plants : Mr. R. E. B. McKen- 

 ney, University of Pennsylvania. — It is 

 here pointed out that the crystals in cells 

 sheathing the phloem in sensitive plants 

 are insoluble in the ordinary reagents and 

 possibly are made of insoluble silicates. 

 They are also more abundant in the more 



