— 8— 



that were most advanced in preparation for next season's work of 

 fruiting and growth. It seems perfectly clear to me now that any 

 apparent deviation in a frond from the sterile towards the fertile 

 form is in reality a reversion from an intended fertile form, and 

 that the degree of reversion is inversely proportioned to the devel- 

 opment of the embryo frond at the time of the accident that affects 

 its destiny It is not clear to me why the reserve fronds should be 

 put forth so late in the season. The leaves destroyed by the fire 

 had nearly or quite completed their work and must have been in 

 a dying condition when burned away. That there was need of 

 more leaves to elaborate growth material does not appear proba- 

 ble, and it seems as if the fire must have had a stimulating effect 

 not entirely in the nature of a necessity. 



I collected and preserved the out-put of some sixty stocks, 

 keeping each separate. If any member of the Chapter is wanting 

 such material, I shall be pleased to send to such as may request it 

 a selected series illustrating the steps of modification. One who 

 is collecting merely to make up a beautiful herbarium will have no 

 use for these, as most of the specimens are dwarfed and unsightly 

 from various causes. Many of the more fertile ones were brown 

 and withered when found.— C. D. McLouih, Muskegon, Mich. 



THE SPORES OF DRYOPTER1S MARG1NALIS. 



THE spores of Dryopteris marginalis are really brown, al- 

 though in many cases the sori and even the spores while 

 still in the sporangia appear to be black. Attention was 

 called to this on page4G of the July Bulletin and the matter was 

 looked into. The sori were scraped off and placed under the mi- 

 croscope and pressed down gently, so as to squeeze out the spores 

 as there ware present both green and black sporangia. When a 

 drop of strong alcohol was allowed to run in under the cover glass 

 the spores were discharged, and it could be seen that those from 

 the black-looking sporangia were brown. The others of course 

 were green. It must not be imagined that the function of the 

 jointed ring in '-discharging the spores " is the rather passive one 

 of straightening out, thus rupturing the sporangium and letting 

 the spores drop out. That used to be my idea of the operation 

 until one day I was startled by seeing the ring straighten out and 

 instead of stopping, keep on its course until it had made almost a 

 complete ring in the opposite direction. Then it suddenly straight. 



