Nov., 1903 .] 
The Development of Corn. 
5 
on “ La Double Fecondation Dans Le Mais.” It is much regret- 
ted that this author produced no drawings with his excellent 
paper. 
The ovulary of the maize has been defined by Guignard (j~) as 
being constituted of a single carpellary leaf turning its ventral 
suture from the side of the axis of the ear. In the very young 
spikelet (Fig. i) the incipient carpel appears in longitudinal sec- 
tion as two rounded protruberances, due to a depression in the 
top. The carpel wall begins to develop rapidly on one side, and 
immediately begins to develop the 3mung silk, or style (Fig. 2). 
The inner empty glume at this stage is quite prominent and a 
rudimentar\’ flower appears on the side away from the axis of the 
ear. The grain grows rapidl}- from the beginning and the stjde 
and ovule soon become more distinct. The silk elongates (Fig. 
3), and the carpel begins to close, while at the same time the 
integuments make their appearance, the inner one developing 
more rapidly than the outer one. At this stage the archesporial 
cell is becoming prominent. A little later (Fig. 4), the floral 
organs pecome perfectlj^ distinct and the integuments diverge, 
the inner one inclining toward the ovule and the outer one point- 
ing toward the opening of the carpel. When the carpel wall 
closes, there is left a small prominence at its summit. A double 
funnel effect is produced as the walls close up around this open- 
ing, the bowls of the funnel arising at the two extremeties (Fig. 
5). Guignard (7) terms this opening the “ st3’lar canal.” Later 
on this canal closes up completeh- at the lower extremit3’, but the 
funnel effect at the top persists throughout (Fig. 10). ” It is at 
the base and upon the inner side of the protuberance,” says Guig- 
nard (7), ” that is to say, on the side of the axis of the ear, that 
the long st3’le of the flower is inserted; the style does not occup3’, 
then, as one might believe at first glance, the organic summit of 
the ovary.” The writer’s observations, as shown by the figures, 
agree with this statement. In this connection it might be well 
to call attention to the carpel of Typha as described by Schaffner 
(ii). The development of the carpel and st3’le of this plant 
appears to be quite similar to that of the corn. The writer saw 
the pollen tube after fertilization had taken place, but in all the 
study failed to see its entrance into the canal, through which one 
might expect it to pa.ss. According to Guignard (7) the tube 
probably passes through the canal, although he does not state 
that he actual^' observed it. He describes its course in the fol- 
lowing terms : ‘‘Arrived at the base of the style, the pollen tubes 
must evidently direct themselves toward the ovarian prominence 
in order to enter it and to follow the course of the canal whicli 
conducts then into the cavity of the ovary.” When the 8-celled 
embryo-sac appears ( Fig. 5) the nucellus has not greatly enlarged. 
The semi-anatrophus ovule occupies the base of the cavity of the 
