Maech 20, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



459 



the Cupressese and Sequoia. They are 

 sharply separated from the protoplasm of 

 the pollen-tube by a distinct hautschieht. 

 Immediately around the nucleus is a thick 

 layer of starch; next to this peripherally 

 comes an imperfect layer of granular ma- 

 terial staining red in saffranin which is 

 probably of the same nature as the large 

 masses found in the spermatozoids of 

 Ginkgo. Between this layer and the haut- 

 schieht is a narrow zone of clear proto- 

 plasm without appreciable inclusions. In 

 the Abietese the pollen-tube contains starch, 

 but there is none in the sperm-cells them- 

 selves, while in Taxodium, on the contrary, 

 the pollen-tube is free from starch and the 

 sperm-cells are loaded with it. 



The ventral-canal division in the arehe- 

 gonium does not produce a ventral-canal 

 cell, separated from the egg, but simply 

 cuts off a ventral-canal nucleus which, 

 while closely pressed to the surface of the 

 egg, is still included in its protoplasm. 

 This nucleus is rarely cut off at the very 

 tip of the egg, but is generally lateral in 

 position and may even be half way down 

 the side. It does not degenerate at once, 

 but persists until after fertilization, and 

 then generally divides amitoticaUy. 



In fertilization the entire sperm-cell 

 enters the egg, passes through its proto- 

 plasm, and comes in contact with the egg 

 nucleus, around which it folds. The starch 

 is thus distributed evenly around the fu- 

 sion nucleus and sinks to the base of the 

 archegonium with it, to be included in the 

 small amount of protoplasm cut off at the 

 base of the egg as the proembryo. In 

 Taxodium, then, almost the whole of the 

 included food material and a considerable 

 part of the protoplasm of the embryo are 

 derived from the sperm-cell, while only a 

 small part of the protoplasm of the egg is 

 instrumental in embryo formation, the re- 

 mainder being digested and absorbed by 

 the young plant. Such a type of fertiliza- 



tion is known so far only in the group 

 Taxodieffi. 



Stameiis and Pistils are Sexual Organs: 

 Professor W. F. Ganong, Smith College. 

 The author contended that the current 

 effort to restrict the sex-terminology to the 

 gametophyte in the flowering plants is mis- 

 directed, for not only does the sex-termin- 

 ology belong to stamens and pistils on the 

 groiind of priority, but also as a matter 

 of physiological fact. The paper will ap- 

 pear in full in this journal. 



The Toxic Effects of Some Nutrient Salts 

 on Certain Marine Algce: Professor Ben- 

 jamin M. DuGGAE, University of Mis- 

 souri. 



Some work conducted in part at the 

 Naples Marine Biological Laboratory and 

 in part at "Woods HoU was reported. In 

 attempting some osmotic studies with solu- 

 tions of cane sugar, potassium nitrate and 

 sodium chloride, it was found that with 

 isotonic solutions, either in sea water or 

 in distilled water, the results were unusu- 

 ally inconsistent. It seemed probable that 

 the explanation might be found to be con- 

 nected with the toxic action of the salts 

 used. Accordingly, an investigation was 

 attempted of the toxic action of certain 

 nutrient salts found in sea water when 

 added to sea water, other chemical agents 

 being also used for comparison. Seven 

 algse were employed, namely, Chcetomorpha 

 linum, Cladophora gracilis, Dasya elegans, 

 Pleonosporium coccinium, Grinnellia Amer- 

 icana, Griffithsia Schousieri and G. opun- 

 tioides. It is desirable to employ for such 

 stiidies algffi which change color as soon as 

 killed, or those with which the plasmolytic 

 test may be readily employed. 



After the acids and some of the salts of 

 the heavy metals, the potassium phosphates 

 proved most toxic; and the latter are 

 closely followed by the neutral salts of 

 ammonium, among which the sulphate is 



