38 HUMPHREY 
minate, though sown at the same time as those in the case of 
Piccta. A very few of the spores of either Hossombronia or 
Cryptomitrzum germinated. ‘Though he did not duplicate in 
every case the cultures of the writer, Professor Peirce had a 
similar experience with all spores of the same (1906) crop. 
This apparent loss of vitality is difficult to account for, unless 
due to the unusual character of the weather’ during the spring 
months. Ordinarily our last rains occur in April, by which time 
the spores of the above-named hepatice have either been dis- 
charged or are maturing. An examination of the daily record 
of precipitation from April 1 to the close of the season may be 
instructive. Up to April 1 from January 1 the total rainfall 
amounted to 10.04 inches. From April 1 to June 15 the record 
was as follows: 
Amount of Amount of 
Date. Precipitation. Date. Precipitation. 
JENDIFUL “UW AdoasaaeboonecncicanoaD! 0.06 May Walt is snk sc cesteneseeeen 0.02 
77 \” IC) .ceseaoanagonag secaaoone 0.01 OF ANI snes Godinain“soocSaqcec: 0.34 
SEMI Qieecetescles.setes calayiaacis O.11 sO ieZOhaecantseaaeae 6 ee neeee 0.04 
PC ik pepedbes sogenecaboousos 0.03 Be) Aifscdconaecagsoncchas oo" 0.51 
COTE DY 7 ae eee oeelsis cata noise te 0.29 SS UDO auch rage ante teresa Gain 
AMA ZOR Aamo taenesesscwsiles trace {ta WN 2 Orcicaette cetera etme O.11 
IMEI 216) soe conestoooeSapantads 0.01 | UAE YanacecconcceBorsomoucnde 0.02 
ri Th ib snpsoddsonoAdonsaSAI005 0.02 i ent ocob Acc ondads a aca 0.73 
nie | MEYsondricoa seoescon nd ops ee 0.24 
OE 2 OT casement eelae nee trace 
From the above record it may readily be seen that from 
April 1 to April 23 the total precipitation amounted to but .07 
of an inch — scarcely more than a trace. Between the twenty- 
third and twenty-seventh enough rain fell to revive the already 
dried mosses and liverworts to a condition of perfectly normal 
turgidity and they remained so at least a week after the last rain- 
fall. Now during April the spores of a number of our liver- 
worts are only beginning to mature, and it is barely possible 
that the prolonged dry period during that month interfered with 
the proper ripening of the spores. On the other hand, spores 
of certain forms, for example, Hossombronza, which had fully 
matured during March but were not gathered till after the 
rainy season, failed to germinate ; and this suggests the possibility 
of the vitality of the spores having been impaired by successive 
