600 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 355. 



paratus has become necessary, and this is 

 provided in the vesicles developed by the 

 swelling of the stalks of certain prolifer- 

 ations. The presence of vesicles gives 

 Egregia a superficial resemblance to Macro- 

 cystis, while it is probably more nearly al- 

 lied to Alaria. A mathematical study of 

 variation in Egregia menziesii leads to the 

 conclusion that the species is in a state of 

 equilibrium. The curves of variation are 

 all symmetrical and remarkably similar. 

 Egregia presents some interesting anatom- 

 ical features which cannot be well summa- 

 rized. This paper will be printed in Min- 

 nesota Botanical Studies. 



12. ' The Morphology of the Pine Cone ' : 

 C. E. Bessey. 



Although there has been much discussion 

 of the morphology of the ' ovuliferous scale ' 

 of the pine cone, recent summaries show 

 that it is not yet satisfactorily settled. The 

 author suggests an explanation which he 

 has used in his lectures to students in the 

 University of Nebraska for several years. 

 Comparing the cones of Cupressinese, Taxo- 

 diese, Araucariese and Abietinese, they are 

 found to be alike, with a similar origin for 

 their ovules, but in the Abietinese there is 

 in connection with each ovule a woody 

 scale, while in Araucarieae there is a rudi- 

 mentary scale. This scale is regarded as 

 a backward development of the ovule, and 

 the cones are therefore strictly homologous. 

 Concisely stated, this view may be formu- 

 lated as follows : The microsporangial and 

 megasporangial cones are strictly homolo- 

 gous, and in the latter the sporophyll en- 

 larges or remains small, just as a chalazal 

 development of the megasporangium into a 

 scale is less or more pronounced. Accord- 

 ing to this view the Abietinese must be 

 given place at the summit of the Conifers. 

 This paper will be printed in Science. 



13. ' General Botanical Features of the 

 Coast Mountains of California ' : Alice 

 Eastwood. 



The Coast Mountains of California ex- 

 tend from the northern to the southern part 

 of the State, passing through about ten de- 

 grees of latitude, and rise from the sea 

 level to an altitude of more than 9,000 feet. 

 Consisting of many different chains and 

 spurs, with valleys between made up of dif- 

 ferent geological formations, a great variety 

 characterizes their flora. Many genera are 

 in an unsettled condition and the species 

 are uncertain. The outer ranges may be 

 divided into four environmental zones : (1) 

 That along the sea coast, characterized by 

 fleshy plants or those clothed with some 

 form of pubescence. They do not difler 

 much from maritime plants in other regions. 

 (2) The forest areas, along streams where 

 the redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) find a 

 home. This keeps quite close within the 

 area of summer fog, and the plants are de- 

 pendent upon moisture and shade. (3) 

 The grassy uplands and valleys. Here, 

 during the rainy season, flowers (mostly 

 annuals) grow in great profusion and form 

 beautiful gardens. They soon disappear 

 and the hills become yellow, except where 

 clumps of oaks, pines, or spruces occur. 

 (4) The brush-covered hills, where the 

 shrubs grow so close together that it is 

 almost impossible to travel through them 

 except on the trails. They hold the water 

 by their roots and prevent evaporation by 

 their dense growth. Most of them show 

 characteristics belonging to desert plants 

 rendered necessary by the long drought 

 and the intense heat to which they are 

 subjected in the summer. The southern 

 coast mountains become even more desert- 

 like in the character of their flora, and here 

 and there will be found wanderers from the 

 desert. The northern coast mountains in 

 general rise to a greater elevation, and in 

 some of the chains the character of the 

 mountains is like that of the Sierra Nevada 

 range and the flora similar at like eleva- 

 tions. A great amount of work has to be 



