March 21, 19i)2.J 



SCIENCE. 



461 



in addition to the number usually present. 

 These four additional cells lay in one row 

 along the external wall of the pollen grain, 

 between the partially disintegrated pro- 

 thallial cells and the external wall, against 

 which the first prothallial cell usually lies. 

 The four additional cells averaged about 

 half as large as the so-called body cell or 

 spermatogenous cell, and the row of four 

 was almost as long as the full width of the 

 central portion of the pollen grain. Against 

 the thin waU which divided the four extra 

 cells from the large cell of the pollen grain, 

 the cells which are usually present in the 

 pollen grain of Picea excelsa were ar- 

 ranged in their usual manner. Two par- 

 tially disintegrated prothallial cells were 

 present, also the stalk cell and spermatog- 

 enous cell. Two interpretations are pos- 

 sible as to the meaning of the four extra 

 cells: (a) They may show merely a spon- 

 taneous variation of the pollen grain — that 

 is, a variation whose cause is wholly hidden 

 in the present state of our knowledge. In 

 this case the variation would have no spe- 

 cial significance in the interpretation of 

 homologies. (&) The four extra cells may 

 represent a reversion to an ancestral form, 

 and could properly be called a prothallium. 

 If this view of the case is the correct one, 

 all the rest of this pollen grain— that is, all 

 that is iisually present in the pollen grain 

 — may well stand for a single antheridium, 

 and the so-called prothallial cells are the 

 partially disintegrated cells of the anthe- 

 ridium stalk. The ordinary pollen grain 

 of Picea excelsa is then merely an anther- 

 idium and has no cells that may be called 

 prothallium. In the nature of the case the 

 proof of the latter interpretation is prac- 

 tically impossible, since only rarely will 

 pollen grains be found to vary in this way. 

 If many pollen grains should be found 

 varying in just this same way the author 

 would be inclined to accept the latter inter- 

 pretation. 



The following business was transacted: 

 Conway MacMillan presented the follow- 

 ing resolution to be laid on the table until 

 the final session : ' ' Resolved, That this 

 group hereby organize under the name of 

 the Botanists of the Central States, and re- 

 solved, further, that the chairman be em- 

 powered to appoint a committee of three, 

 including himself, which shall have full 

 charge of organization, membership quali- 

 fication and the program for one meeting 

 in 1902 in case it is decided to convene dur- 

 ing that year." After discussion the reso- 

 lution was tabled for later consideration. 



The secretary was asked to read a com- 

 munication from W. G. Farlow, accom- 

 panying copies of the ' Third Report of the 

 Committee on Securing Better Reviews of 

 Botanical Literature, ' which were then dis- 

 tributed to the botanists present. On re- 

 quest, William Trelease explained the 

 progress in the organization of the Inter- 

 national Association of Botanists and espe- 

 cially the plans for conducting the editorial 

 work of the Botanisches Centralblatt, now 

 the official publication of the Association. 

 He explained also the financial plans for 

 conducting the CentralMatt. It was ex- 

 plained that it was the plan of the Central- 

 blatt to publish brief abstracts of all of the 

 more important botanical papers, irrespec- 

 tive of authorsliip and without comment; 

 prompt cooperation of authors and sub- 

 editors would accomplish this. 



The discussion of the subject, ' Coopera- 

 tion among research laboratories to avoid 

 unnecessary duplication of work,' was 

 opened by J. M. Coulter and participated 

 in by R. A. Harper, William Trelease and 

 E. E. Bogue. 



In the afternoon the botanists met with 

 the American Society of Naturalists and 

 listened to the discussion on the relation 

 of that Society to present and proposed 

 scientific organizations. 



