254 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [September 



megaspore mother cell as two megaspores. This is a surprising conception of 

 the megaspore, for it would mean that a megaspore (and presumably a micro- 

 spore) could be formed with only one of the reduction divisions, that is, the 

 megaspore would be completely formed at the close of the heterotypic mitosis. 

 Cytologists will hardly accept such an interpretation. 



The angiosperm embryo sac is interpreted as consisting of micropylar 

 and an antipodal archegonium. This is another view which can hardly be 

 accepted by one who has followed the gradual reduction of the female gameto- 

 phyte from the bryophytes to the spermatophytes. 



The book brings together an immense amount of material and will be 



useful just as an encyclopedia is useful. In such voluminous publications 



originality is not to be expected. There is a general index and an index of 



plant names. Many references to literature are given in the text, but the 



complete bibliography will be deferred until the work is complete. — Charles 



J. Chamberlain. 



MINOR NOTICES 



Forestry in Indiana. — The annual report of the Indiana State Board 

 of Forestry 2 for the past year contains two papers of more than usual interest . 

 The shorter, by Stanley Coulter, contains a valuable mass of data on th e rate 

 of growth of various native tree species found upon the state reservation. Its 

 study should make the selection of the best species for forest planting an easier 

 matter, while at the same time it serves to emphasize the importance of con- 

 serving what has been the product of centuries of plant activity. 



The longer article, by C. C. Deam, the secretary of the board, is an illus- 

 trated descriptive list of the tree species native to the state and occupies 270 

 pages of the report. Excellent botanical descriptions of some 125 species are 

 supplemented by full-page drawings of leaves and fruit, together with notes 

 upon the economic uses and horticultural value of the trees, making it a 

 valuable handbook of the forests of the state. — Geo. D. Fuller. 



NOTES FOR STUDENTS 



Recent work among gymnosperms. — Stiles* has investigated some 

 material of Podocarpus, Dacrydium, and Microcachrys, and has made it the 

 basis of a synthetic presentation of the classification, morphology, history, 

 and phylogenetic connections of the group. The bringing together of this 

 wealth of details in an organized form will serve the very useful purpose not 

 only of suggesting genetic connections but also of indicating the important 

 gaps in our knowledge. The general features of the group are summarized 

 clearly and compactly under the categories of vegetative organs, spore-producing 



3 Eleventh annual report of Indiana State Board of Forestry for the year 191 1. 

 pp. 372. pis. 133. Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford. 1912. 



3 Stiles, Walter, The Podocarpeae. Ann. Botany 26:443~5 I 4- M s * 8t P Is ' 

 46-48. 191 2. 





