1915] CURRENT LITERATURE 165 
aecia that were studied. In agreement with others he finds that the cells of the 
central arch of the peridium are the apical cells of the central spore chains that 
is 
reversed and the small intercalary cell is cut off above and the peridial cell 
below. A brief description of the fertilization processes in this species is given. 
Equal cell fusions similar to those first described by CHRISTMAN were found.— 
F. D. Fro 
Reciprocal crosses of Oenothera.—DaAvis® has reported a partial confirma- 
include reciprocal crosses between O. biennis L. and O. franciscana Bartlett, 
between O. biennis and O. grandiflora Solander, and between O. muricata L. 
and O. gigas De Vries. Detailed, parallel descriptions are given of the parents 
and of the pairs of reciprocals, together with numerous photographs of the 
plants in various stages of their growth. Except in the case of the gigas- 
muricata crosses, the reciprocals of which were in general without important 
distinguishing characters, the reciprocal crosses exhibited striking contrasting 
differences. In most respects the crosses closely resembled the pollen parent 
(patroclinous), as had been noted earlier by DE Vries for one of these crosses, 
but strong matroclinous tendencies were also observed, particularly in certain 
c s. Red 
encies were most CO CHOGN the influence of both parents was plainly recog- 
nizable. He has “observed no certain evidence that a morphological character 
of either species in a cross is passed on to the F, hybrids exactly as it is repre- 
sented in one or the other of the ” This fact, DAvis notes, would 
render untenable GotpscHmipT’s assump of merogony, even though that 
explanation had not been made doubtful se EX cytological data of RENNER. 
No satisfactory explanation of these results has been suggested.—R. A. 
EMERSON 
Transpiration in succulent plants.—Dertr™ has made an interesting study 
of the transpiration peculiarities of the different classes of succulent plants, 
having carried on a number of experiments and having endeavored to organize 
Davis, BrapLEY Moore, Genetical studies on Oenothera, V. Zeitsch. Ind. 
Abst.- u. Vererbungslehre 12:169-205. 1914. 
** Der, E. Marton, Transpiration in succulent plants. Ann. Botany 26:409- 
442. Igr2. 
