168 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [FEBRUARY 
cells. Further work is expected to show to what extent the physical forces 
concerned in the living and inorganic material are identical—Cuar_es J. 
CHAMBERLAIN, 
Ovulate flower of Gnetum.—The publication of Miss BERRIDGE’s paper” 
on the ovulate strobilus of Gnetum Gnemon, in which she gave evidence for the 
conclusion that the ovule was “‘primitively surrounded by a whorl of male 
flowers,” has called out a paper by LicNIER and Tison* upon the same struc- 
ture. They have found material that seems to indicate that the “third integu- 
ment”’ of the ovule is a modified axis of inflorescence that bore an axillary ovule; 
and that occasionally an axillary group of staminate flowers is present, which 
indicates a connection with Welwitschia.—J. M. C. 
Beech forest on chalk and on schist——Comparing the English beech 
forests on chalk with the French on schist SKENE” finds that they are exactly 
similar ecologically, and that scarcely a member of the latter is a calcifugous 
plant, while scarcely a single member of the former is a calcicolous plant. Topo- 
graphically there is no distinction between the two types. This leads SKENE 
to question the accuracy of placing the two forests in different formations 
according to the classification adopted by British ecologists.—Gro. D. FULLER. 
A bibliography of mitosis.—A very useful list of works on meiosis and 
somatic mitosis in the angiosperms since 1880 has been compiled by PicarD.” 
The forms are arranged according to systematic position. Although the author 
has not attempted to make the citations on the individual plants exhaustive, 
the 300 and more citations given justify him in his belief that from the list 
one can obtain reference to all the literature of the subject.—L. W. SHARP. 
Embryogeny of the Ranunculaceae.—In continuing his studies of the 
Ranunculaceae, SourcEs has described the development of the embryo of 
Ficaria ranunculoides, including some interesting cytological details.—J. M. C- 
77 See Bot. Gaz. §5:172. 1913. 
% LicntieR, O., et Tison, A., L’ovule tritégumenté des Gnet tp 
axe d’inflorescence. Bull. Soc. Bot. France 60:64-72. figs. 5- 1913- 
29 SKENE, MacGrecor, The relation of the beech forest to edaphic factors. Jour. 
Ecol. 1:94-96. 1913. 
% PrcarD, M., A bibliography of works on meiosis and somatic mitosis in the 
angiosperms. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 40:575-s90. 1913. 
3 SouBGES, R., Recherches sur l’embryogénie des Renonculacées. Bull, Soc: 
Bot. France 60:150-157. pl. 11. figs. 288-315. 1913. 
hahleoment un 
