144 : BOTANICAL GAZETTE [AUGUST 
the egg, was observed. JL. candidum furnished material for normal 
fertilization. At the union of the egg and sperm, the latter was 
about the size of the former and both were in the resting condition, 
the chromatin being distributed in the form of a fine network. No 
boundary was observed separating the two elements at the point 
of contact, and the fusion that took place during resting condition 
was so complete at the close of fertilization that there was no visible 
distinction between male and female chromatin. 
In 1904 Morrrer (14) confirmed his earlier investigations, 
pointed out the S shape of the male nucleus, the fusion of the 
sexual nuclei in resting condition, the coming together of the two 
polar and male nuclei in L. Martagon, and the cause of the non- 
fusion. Although he stated that the sexual nuclei were in the 
resting condition at the time of fusion, he called attention to the 
chromatin of the sperm heing more regular than that of the egg. 
It was also claimed that the nucleoli fused at fertilization. 
One of the first reports of double fertilization was made by 
GUIGNARD (7) in 1899 for Lilium Martagon. In this species he 
observed the union of one of the male nuclei with one of the polar 
nuclei, followed by the union with the second polar nucleus. The 
chromatin of the two male nuclei, on account of being coarser, 
was distinguishable from that of the egg and polar nuclei with 
which they had fused. He also stated that he was able to recog- 
nize the triple origin of the secondary nucleus during the prophases, 
although no drawings were given. 
NAWASCHIN (15), in the first report of double fertilization in 
Lilium Martagon and Fritillaria tenella, noted that the cellulose 
membrane surrounding the sexual apparatus was absorbed just 
previous to the entrance of the pollen tube, and that the spiral- 
shaped male nucleus entered the protoplasm of the sac. He con- 
cluded that the sperms took on various shapes under various 
conditions, and, as GUIGNARD had assumed, that they were motile. 
One sperm was found to enter the egg, the other to unite with the 
superior polar nucleus, and in both cases a complete fusion occurred 
after a certain period. The fusion of the superior and inferior polar 
nuclei took place after the male nucleus had united with the former. 
The triple fusion was followed in a short time by a division which 
preceded that of the egg. 
