62 



and this monotony becomes tiresome, productive of ennui and 

 loss of. energy-. 



Arthur H. Graves, 



Secretary. 



Meeting of February 27, 1924 



The meeting was held in the lecture room of the Museum of 

 the New York Botanical Garden. 



The following were elected to membership: Mrs. Frances L. 

 Muller, New York City; Miss M. Georgina Biddle, New York 

 City; Professor M. A. Chrysler, Rutgers College, New Bruns- 

 wick, N. J.; Miss Mary A. Clark, Brooklyn. 



The following resignations were accepted: Mrs. and Miss 

 Langmuir, Mr. George T. Harrington, Mrs. Arthur L. Sproul, 

 Professor H. F. A. Meier, Dr. Carl A. Schwarze, and Mr. W. T. 

 Arnold. 



Dr. C. E. Allen, of the University of Wisconsin, who is taking 

 Dr. Harper's place at Columbia during the latter's absence in 

 Washington, D. C, gave a talk illustrated with lantern slides 

 on "Some variant characters of a liverwort (Sphaerocarpus) and 

 their inheritance." Dr. Allen said that Sphaerocarpus Don- 

 nellii, like other species of the genus, so far as known, is strictly 

 dioecious, llie four spores formed by the division of a single 

 spore mother cell remain adherent at maturity, at least under 

 greenhouse conditions, with the exception of those produced by 

 one clone. When the four adherent spores germinate, two de- 

 velop into male gametophytes, two into female., Male and 

 female gametophytes are characterized by the possession of 

 different chromosome groups; one of the chromosomes of the 

 female (the X-chromosome) is very large; the corresponding one 

 in the male (the Y-chromosome) is very small. Both are present 

 in the sporophyte and separated in the reduction div^isions, so 

 that, of the four spores formed from a spore mother cell, two 

 receive the X-chromosome and can develop only Into female 

 plants; the other two receive the Y-chromosome and can develop 

 only into male plants. 



Races have been isolated which differ In several vegetative 

 characters. The "tufted" character shows itself especially in 

 the very variable form of the involucres. If a tufted female is 



