192 
LE GOC : 
to Fig. 3, which I have drawn from nature with the help of a 
camera lucida. The nucellus (nuc.) is attached to the inner 
fleshy layer along the greatest part of its course, and is reduced 
to a film, except at the apex, where it bulges out into a pointed 
cushion enclosing the characteristic pollen chamber (p.c.). 
The endosperm (end.), at first soft and jelly-like, becomes 
harder when older, and contains a great abundance of starch 
grains. It bears five or six archegonia (a), with their necks 
projecting into a depression situated just below the pollen 
chamber and called the archegonial chamber. 
In Fig. 4 we have a magnified view of a pollen chamber 
(p.c.) formed as a cavity at the pointed end of the nucellus 
(nuc.). Particles of dust and spores of fungi frequently met 
with inside the pollen chamber have been purposely omitted 
in the sketch. It may be noted that these spores do not 
generally germinate inside a healthy ovule. It is only in the 
case of ovules that are not pollinated that the fungus thrives 
vigorously and causes decay, or perhaps also in a fully grown 
ovule whose vitality has become impaired. On rare occasions 
pollen grains other than of Cycads have been found ; this is 
what would be expected, and has also been independently 
worked out recently by Mr. Birbal Sahni (4) and by Prof. F. 
W. Oliver (3). These pollen grains make no attempt to 
germinate, and have no more effect on the ovules of G. Rumphii 
than an ordinary foreign body such as a particle of dust. 
Far different is the behaviour and effect of pollen grains 
belonging to other species, or even other genera, of Cycads. 
The pollination of G. Rumphii that took place at Henaratgoda 
Gardens must be attributed to G. circinalis ; for no other male 
Cycads are to be seen in the neighbourhood. But most of 
the material used has been gathered from Peradeniya Gardens, 
where no male-cone of the genus Cycas has been observed by 
me until quite recently. On the other hand, ^as already 
stated, male cones of Encephalartos and Macrozamia are 
frequent and abundant. The specimens sketched on Plate 
XIII. are all from Peradeniya. 
Fig. 4 is a typical sample of the findings inside a growing 
healthy ovule of G. Rumphii some four months old. There 
is an ungerminated pollen grain (p.g.) stuck in a mass of 
