FUNARIA HYGROMETRICA (l.) SCHREB. 
395 
soil, and in cultures to which protonemata are transferred when young 
(two to three weeks after germination) the leafy axes develop in about eight 
weeks from the time of germination. However, when protonemata are 
taken from cultures four to six weeks old, the gametophoric buds are formed 
when the protonemata have been on the soil for from four to six weeks. 
Thus it appears that the time of transfer of the protonemata affects the 
time of development of leafy axes. The following are typical instances: 
For culture 36 the spores were sown December i, 1916, the protonema was 
transferred December 12, and the first leafy axes appeared January 28, 
191 7, approximately eight weeks after germination. For culture 315 the 
spores were sown on the same date, the protonema was transferred February 
10, 1917, and leafy axes appeared April 7, 1917, about four months after 
germination. For culture 235 the spores were sown December 14 and the 
protonema was transferred February 2, 1917; leafy axes were observed 
March 7, 1917, five weeks after transfer and about three months after 
germination. 
The leafy axes arise from the protonemata in a manner similar to that in 
which protonemal branches originate. A protrusion appears laterally upon 
the anterior part of a cell just posterior to a septum; intersecting walls are 
formed, which result in the production of a mass of cells instead of a filament 
(fig. 5). An apical cell appears when the bud consists of but a few cells. 
The first leaves are closely appressed to the stem (fig. 6) ; later they elongate 
and become folded so as to envelope completely the apical region (fig. 7). 
Finally the leaves become more or less separated from one another, giving 
the young gametophore its characteristic bud-like appearance (fig. 8) . 
The number of gametophores arising directly on individual protonemata 
is variable, ranging in my cultures from five to twenty-seven. After the 
development of the gametophores from the protonemata, rhizoids and 
secondary protonemata are developed from the basal parts of the former, 
the protonemata arising without previous injury of the gametophores. 
These new structures in turn give rise to other gametophores from which 
other rhizoids and protonemata are formed. These processes continue 
until the surface of each pot is covere<d by a dense growth of gametophores 
and protonemata. In every one of my four hundred twenty-five cultures, 
a large growth of gametophores was secured, and no contaminations by 
foreign mosses took place in any of the cultures, which remained in good 
condition for about two years. 
Since each pot contains the growth from a single spore, and since this 
growth consists of several hundred gametophores, the examination of these 
cultures at the time of the formation of the sex organs should make it pos- 
sible to determine without a doubt the sexual condition of the species. 
Boodle (1906) used material obtained in nature, and from this he was able to 
determine that F. hygrometrica was monoecious or "at least seldom dioe- 
cious." He added this alternative because he found a number of axes of 
