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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
same ; they may serve the purpose of violently dispersing the spores, or 
of simply causing them to constitute a loose mass which is readily 
dispersed by the wind; or they may serve for the conveyance of 
nutriment to the sporogenous cells ; the latter is the only function of 
rudimentary elaters. 
The author arranges the elaters of Hepaticae under a number of 
different types, dependent on their mode of formation and functions. In 
the Jungermannia type, which is by far the most common, and in the 
Frullania type, the elaters serve for the violent dispersion of the spores. 
In the Aneura and Pellia types the elaters are not free, but are attached 
by one end to the wall of the capsule ; and in Aneura and Metzgeria 
they do not spring directly from the wall of the capsule, but from 
four masses of tissue which have been termed elaterophores. In 
Fossombronia and in the Marchantiese their chief or sole function is the 
conveyance of nutriment to the sporogenous cells. 
Prof. Goebel draws attention to the homology between the elaters of 
the Hepaticae and the capillitium of the Myxomycetes, and structures of 
similar function in the Lycoperdaceae and in the Orchideae. 
Oil-bodies of the Hepaticae.* — Herr W. v. Kiister regards these 
bodies as peculiar to the Hepaticae. They contain a fatty oil, but the so- 
called membrane is a secondary product, the result of the treatment. The 
oil-bodies are always formed by new formation, not by division. They may 
be formed in the dark, in organs which do not contain chlorophyll, and 
remain unchanged till the death of the cell. They agree with elaioplasts 
in their mode of development, but differ from these bodies in their 
-chemical reactions. 
Algae. 
Algae and Fungi of Drinking-water.f — Dr. G. v. Istvanffi has in- 
vestigated the organic life of the water supplied to Buda-Pesth for 
domestic purposes. He finds germs of Algae to be present during the 
whole year, especially during the spring and autumn, and when the 
rainfall is exceptionally high. The forms are chiefly unicellular ; 
diatoms and Scenedesmus acutus are especially mentioned. Of Fungus- 
germs by far the most abundant are those of Saprolegniaceae, which 
were found invariably at all seasons, especially the swarmspores. All 
the various organisms observed occur also in the waters of the Danube. 
Batrachospermum4 — Dr. F. Brand contests the view of Sirodot that 
there is any true alternation of generations between Batrachospermum 
and Chantransia. He distinguishes four different forms of thallus, 
which, however, pass into one another by insensible gradations, viz. : — 
{1) The horizontal thallus or primitive growth, which arises both from 
the carpospores and from the non-sexual sporules of Batrachospermum 
and Chantransia.; (2) Rudimentary filaments, springing in an upward 
direction from the horizontal thallus ; (3) Chantransia- filaments ; (4) 
Batrachospermum- filaments, the most highly differentiated form of 
* ‘ Die Oelkorper d. Lebermoose,’ Basel, 1894. See Bot. Centralbl., lxxii. 1895, 
p. 111. t Bot. Centralbl., lxi. (1895) pp. 7-14. 
X SB. Bot. Ver. Mimchen, Jan. 14, 1895. See Bot. Centralbl., lxi. (1895) 
pp. 280-4 (1 fig.). 
