114 



The Plant World. 



Heinricher, in a contribution to the Wiesner Festschrift, 

 at Vienna, adds some new facts to his former observations on 

 the influence of light on germination, and offers suggestions as 

 to underlying conditions and causes. He finds that the germi- 

 nation of seeds of Sarracenia flava and Darlingtonia californica 

 is distinctly favored by the action of light. In general, the seeds 

 of the epiphytic Rhododendron javanicum do not germinate in 

 darkness. This was also found to be true of several other species 

 of Rhododendron. Seeds of Myrmecodia echinata sprout prompt- 

 ly both in light and darkness. Many species of Veronica ger- 

 minate best in light. Those of V. peregrina generally start from 

 three to ten days earlier in light than in darkness; but this in- 

 terval varies with the age of the seed. Immediately after 

 gathering, it is only three to five days, but seeds freshly gathered, 

 dried immediately and then kept in the dark germinate in light 

 twenty-two to twenty-five days earlier than in darkness, in 

 which they behave as though they were not through with their 

 period of rest. 



To light is attributed a favorable influence on changes of 

 the reserve materials, which also take place, but more slowly, in 

 darkness. Some seeds which cannot be brought to germinate 

 in darkness will sprout if exposed to light for some days. By 

 way of summary, the author writes: "on the whole, the experi- 

 ments indicate that with seeds the germination of which is 

 favored by light this is conditioned by age of seeds, rapidity of 

 drying after gathering, and probably by the method of storing, 

 whether in light or darkness. Moisture of the air where these 

 are stored may also have an influence. The relations are extra- 

 ordinarily complicated, and consistency of results is to be ex- 

 pected only when all these factors are taken into consideration." 



Techet, in the proceedings of the Botanical-zoological 

 Society of Vienna, discusses the Marine Vegetation of the Gulf 

 of Triest. The depth of water, character of bottom, temperature, 

 currents and other factors likely to influence local distribution 

 are considered, and maps accompany the text showing the posi- 

 tion and bottom and the distribution of various plants, 

 chiefly algae. Admitting the great difficulty of estimating 

 definitely the influence of different factors, the author expresses 



