596 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXIX. No. 745 



The embryo-sac was not made out in these spe- 

 cies; but a long slit was observed reaching from 

 the center of the ovary into the tissues of the 

 style, which, it seemed, had been occupied by the 

 embryo-sac. Of this Hofmeister says ("Neue 

 Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Embryobildung der 

 Phanerogamen," 539. 1859): "The growth in 

 length of the embryo-sac is not ended with its 

 formation. The sac makes its way through en- 

 tangled cells of the closed style to a quarter of 

 its length upwards." 



Young stages of the proembryo were observed 

 composed of four, and then of six cells in two 

 parallel rows, with the long suspensor, of three 

 greatly elongated cells, reaching into the tissues 

 of the style for nearly half its length. 



The embryo occupies a vertical position in the 

 center of the berry, and from its position in the 

 surrounding tissue, suggests all the characters of 

 an orthotropous ovule. As the embryo develops, 

 it is surrounded with endosperm. A change in the 

 nature of the tissue below the embryo suggests a 

 series of conducting cells between the embryo and 

 the starch-filled cells in the lower part of the 

 ovary. The cotyledons become green, and the sus- 

 pensor gradually disappears, except for a few 

 capping cells at the anterior end of the embryo, 

 which now occupies the ovarial cavity for almost 

 its entire length. 



The points of particular interest are: the rapid 

 disintegration of the cells of the gyncecium before 

 and after fixation; the lack of an ovule as a dis- 

 tinct organ; the lack of integument; and the 

 green color of the embryo as it lies in the berry. 

 Botanical Observations in Iceland and Spits- 

 bergen: Miss Julia T. Emeeson. 



In July, 1908, the writer was so fortunate as 

 to take a three-weeks' trip, touching at the follow- 

 ing places: Kirkwall, in the Orkney Islands; 

 Thorshavn, the chief town of the Faroes; the city 

 of Reykjavik and village of Akreyri, in Iceland; 

 Advent Bay and Bell Sound, in the Island of 

 Spitzbergen; and then south to the North Cape 

 of Norway and many places of interest on that 

 coast. 



Although all the points visited were on the 

 coast or within reach of salt water, the flora 

 changed according to the latitude, just as it does 

 when one climbs a mountain, and as we went 

 north we left behind the summer or spring vege- 

 tation which we found in Kirkwall, passed a tree- 

 less growth in Iceland, and at Spitzbergen came 



to an alpine flora with representatives found in 

 the United States only on mountain summits or 

 in the high Rockies. For instance, at Thorshavn 

 buttercups, marigolds, forget-me-nots, daisies and 

 other spring flowers were in bloom, and there were 

 potatoes and gooseberries in the gardens. Our 

 first sight of Iceland had been of great snow-fields, 

 and we were astonished, therefore, to find any 

 familiar plants on land. In the town were some 

 of the plants mentioned above and two little 

 specimens of trees, a sycamore maple and a moun- 

 tain ash, very stunted, and the vegetables would 

 not have grown without protection of the houses 

 and good soil; on the great stony stretches which 

 surround Reykjavik a little pink thyme, Statice 

 ■maritima, Silene maritima and 8. acaulis, Poly- 

 gonum viviparum, Alohemilla alpina, several spe- 

 cies of Galium and Tofieldia palustris were more 

 or less abundant, and at Akreyri there was quite 

 a luxuriant vegetation near a little waterfall 

 outside of the settlement; pretty Dryas octopetala, 

 Eriophorum angustifolium and E. vaginatum, 

 Parnassia palustris, Viola tricolor, Pinguicula 

 vulgaris and some of our ordinary weeds, also a 

 number of mosses, especially Grimmias. At Spitz- 

 bergen the stones, where not covered by snow, were 

 gay with the Iceland poppy, Saooifraga oppositi- 

 folia, pink or white and with a delicate odor, 

 beautiful Pedicularis lanata, the pink of the 

 fiowers showing through a veil of gray hairs, 

 Potentilla emarginata and Cassiope tetragona, 

 making a sort of turf or bog close to the melting 

 snow. Here we had twenty-four hours of sun- 

 shine, and the scenery was of strong contrasts, 

 wet black or gray rocks, dazzling glaciers and 

 dancing blue waters, where numberless birds fear- 

 lessly rested or floated about. 



The contrast between these arctic conditions 

 and the rich growth of grass, sweet yellow violets, 

 pink campions and geraniums, etc., which we found 

 growing in the flank of the North Cape of Nor- 

 way, was very marked, but on the flat top of the 

 cape there was only a scanty number of hardy 

 stone-crops and other low things which could find 

 protection between the stones from the fierce 

 winds. The first trees seen on the southward part 

 of the journey were birches, and they were at 

 Lyngenfjord, still north of the arctic circle. In 

 climbing the mountain at Digermullen we noticed 

 the following plants, Galluna vulgaris, whose 

 common name of " lyng " is said to have suggested 

 the name of the fjord, Corniis sueoica, violets, 

 Trientalis europcea, Vacoinium and Andromeda 

 polifolia. 



