Bagnall: Sexual Reproduction of Ferns and Mosses. 105 



analogous to the Marchantia-lihe prothallus of the fern, but I must 

 refer those who desire to go more deeply into this matter to that 

 wonderful work of his on " The Higher Cryptogamia.'' 



Mosses like the flowering plants differ as to the nature of their 

 inflorescence. In some species the antheridia and archegonia occur 

 within the same involucre or perichcetium. Such mosses are said to be 

 synoicous, and may be considered as similar in the nature of their 

 inflorescence to those flowers we term " hermaphrodite '' ; the term 

 " synoicous " is a better term, being more expressive. In other 

 species of mosses the antheridia occur in one bud, and the archegonia in 

 another bud on the same plant— such mosses are said to be monoi- 

 cous ; whilst in others the antheridia and archegonia occur in separate 

 buds on separate plants of the same species : they are then said to be 

 dioicous. 



I may seem to be going somewhat tediously into details in this 

 matter, but I do so because it has been asserted in this Society that 

 these antheridia are merely abortive archegonia ; and a member has 

 told me that he would one day bring me fruit from one of these 

 organs. I am sure he never will. I fully believe in the true 

 sexuality of both ferns and mosses, and am convinced that the 

 antheridia are of as great importance as the archegonia for the 

 production of fruit, but I should find it a difficult, if not an impossible 

 task, to prove to demonstration that my belief is a true one, the 

 difficulties surrounding such a case are so great ; the minuteness of 

 these different organs, the uncertainty of finding them at just the 

 right moment, together with the fact that we have to dissect the plant 

 and thereby destroy its vitality before we can begin our investigation, 

 naturally renders the task of proof an almost impossible one. I have 

 therefore only presumptive evidence — that of my experience in the 

 production of fruit— to bring forward. 



Now, I find that the synoicous and monoicons mosses are very 

 plentiful, nearly every tuft of such mosses often bristling with fruit, 

 but in dioicous mosses the fruit is rarely (in some cases never) found 

 within a given district, or even within a given country ; and I have 

 made special investigations into the cause of this absence of fruit in 

 certain of these mosses, and have invariably found that whenever fruit 

 was absent in a locality, the plants there noticed were either wholly 

 male or wholly female. This I have verified times without number, 

 and therefore think I am justified in believing in the true sexuality of 

 these plants. 



