August 1, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



r67 



of the trunk, showed typical E. Altensteinii 

 characters. In Baron von Miiller's time the 

 plant probably agreed with the taxonomic de- 

 scription, which was certainly based upon a 

 young plant. No plant of E. Altensteinii 

 with a trunk more than three meters high is 

 likely to agree with the taxonomic diagnosis. 



The big cones, as in most of the species, 

 have seeds with a brilliant red seed coat. 



The remaining section, which might be 

 called the horridus section, on account of its 

 forbidding leaves, comprises four species, all 

 confined to the southern part of the cycad 

 range. 



Enceplialartos Frederici Guilelmi occurs in 

 greatest abundance at Queenstown and Cath- 

 eart. It has a majestic trunk and a fine 

 crown of glaucous leaves. The leaflets are 

 pungently pointed but the margins are not 

 spiny, so that it is only by the numerous inter- 

 grades between this species and the next that 

 it deserves a place in the horridus section. 

 No other cycad has such a densely tomentose 

 bud. The cones, sometimes five or six in 

 number, are lateral and are arranged around 

 a central bud. 



Encephalartos Lehmannii is often confused 

 with the preceding species, but has a broader 

 leaflet, which may be entire, or spiny or may 

 have big, coarse teeth like E. horridus. The 

 staminate cones, which have a reddish color 

 and are not very hairy, distinguish the species 

 at a glance. The ovulate cones are equally 

 characteristic, being very tomentose in E. 

 Frederici Guilelmi and nearly smooth in tJ. 

 Lehmannii. 



The type of the section is E. horridus, whose 

 jagged leaves, as sharp and rigid as if they 

 had been cut out from sheets of tin, give this 

 plant a clear title to its name. No cycad is 

 more xerophytic and the various aloes, cotyle- 

 dons and crassulas associated with it would 

 make a fine study for an ecologist. 



An almost unknown member of this section, 

 which I saw only at Trapps Valley, in the 

 vicinity of Grahamstown, is E. latifrons. It 

 occurs in the open grass velt and the plants 

 are widely separated from one another, half a 

 mile or more apart. The leaflet is jagged, 



like that of E. horridus, but the trunks are 

 stouter and the cones several times larger. 

 The growth is even slower than in Dioon 

 edule. Two plants, about one meter in height, 

 on a lawn at Trapps Valley, have been under 

 observation for nearly fifty years, and I was 

 assured that they always bore leaves, some- 

 times new leaves, but that they were no taller 

 than when first set out. 



One object of the trip was to secure material 

 for a complete morphological study of the five 

 oriental genera. Through the generous coop- 

 eration of directors of botanical gardens and 

 local botanists, this object was attained in far 

 greater measure than I had dared to hope. 



Even a morphologist should know his ma- 

 terial in the field, and so I made careful ob- 

 servations and notes on all the species I could 

 find. One result of the field study was not 

 anticipated. From a field study of the Mex- 

 ican genera, I had begun to regard the species 

 of cycads as rather rigid. Of the four western 

 genera, Dioon, Ceratozamia and Microcycas 

 are monotypic or nearly so; Zamia, with its 

 thirty or more species, would probably show 

 considerable variation if one could study it 

 from Florida to Chili. The spiralis section 

 of Macrozamia in Australia and the three sec- 

 tions of Encephalartos in Africa show that 

 some cycads are still plastic and show varia- 

 tions which may be fluctuating or which may 

 be mutations. Unfortunately, most cycads do 

 not produce cones until they are from twenty 

 to fifty years of age, and, consequently, one 

 could not begin experimental work with much 

 prospect of seeing results. 



Charles J. Chamberlain 



University op Chicago 



TWENTT-FISST ANNUAL MEETING OE 

 TEE SOCIETY FOB THE FSOMOIION 



OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION 

 The regular annual meeting of the So<>iety for 

 the Promotion of Engineering Education was held 

 in Minneapolis from June 24 to 26 inclusive. The 

 principal sessions were held in the new Engineer- 

 ing Building of the University of Minnesota and 

 in the West Hotel, the latter being a joint session 

 with the American Water Works Association. A 

 comprehensive series of papers was presented by 



