460 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [JUNE 
and has other obvious advantages over the use of loose corks. The lower 
portion of the porous tube is glazed with DeKotinsky cement to insure a 
constant evaporating surface. (This cement, by the way, when properly 
heated is far superior to sealing-wax for most laboratory purposes.) In 
refilling the bottle or determining the water loss it is only necessary to 
remove the capillary tube and insert the burette tip. If air bubbles collect 
in the porous tube when first set up, they may be removed by inverting 
the instrument and allowing the water to force them out. The collection 
of air bubbles may be avoided, however, by first placing the tubes in alcohol” 
and then in distilled water, or by boiling in water before setting up. For 
determining the water loss I found it in some instances advantageous to 
weigh the entire instrument from time to time. Because of the small size 
of the porous tube, 250°° of water is sufficient for two weeks of exposure 
under ordinary Illinois conditions. Under certain circumstances the 
smaller size is an advantage, because the instrument is less conspicuous.— 
Epcar N. TRANSEAU, Charleston, Lilinois. 
PHYLOGENY OF PLANTS 
The following statement has been received from Dr. Lorsy in reference 
to the recent review of the second volume of his Vortrége tber botanische 
Stammesgeschichte in this journal: 
May I call your attention to an error in your review in saying that 
‘‘Anthoceros is accorded the status of the most primitive liverwort on the 
ground that it is nearest the algae in having in each cell only one chloroplast 
and this furnished with a pyrenoid.” Now I certainly do not consider 
Anthoceros as the most primitive liverwort, as I can prove by the following 
passage on page 74 of my book: “Das primitivste Lebermoos in Bezug au 
die Struktur seiner Chromatophoren ‘ist Anthoceros, zu gleicher Zeit das 
héchste in Bezug auf seine 2x-Generation. .. . . Ihm und seinen Ver- 
wandten ist also eine isolierte Stellung anzuweisen. . . . - Jedenfalls hat 
Anthoceros eine sehr hoch entwickelte 2x-Generation und kann uns also 
bei der Suche nach einer sehr niedrigen Archegoniate nicht behilflich sem. 
Sehen wir also einmal, ob wir irgendwo anders gliicklicher sind.” Your 
deduction that I consider Anthoceros the most primitive liverwort 1S 
probably derived from a passage on page 61, which you either understood 
imperfectly or in which I expressed myself imperfectly. In either case We 
can both be excused, I think, as you read and I write a foreign language 
t Bot. GAZETTE 49:225. 1910. 
