46 Penhallow . — Nematophyton Ortoni , 
view gains strength from the fact that our sections were 
apparently taken from one of the hapteres near its junction 
with the principal axis. 
In his article on N. Storriei , Mr. Barber finds it difficult to 
agree with my views respecting the organic connexion between 
the large cells of the medulla and the small hyphae, basing 
his objections upon examinations of N. Logani and N. Stor- 
riei ; but in view of the evidence at hand, it is impossible 
for me to accept the modifications he suggests 1 . Evidently 
when his article was written he had not seen my second 
paper on Nematophyton 2 , in which five species are described. 
In speaking of N. crassum 3 , I then made use of the following 
description : — 
‘ The most significant fact so far observed, consists in the discovery 
of a distinctly branching system, similar in its general character to that 
of N. Logani , though differing from it in some important respects. 
In one case I found a branch projecting from the side of a large cell, 
with a diameter of 5-8 p and a length to the point where cut off of about 
35 /x. Two other branches near together were each 4-6 p; two more 
were 2-3 /x and 4 -6/x; another 6-9 /x in diameter ... It was therefore 
clear that the larger cells of this plant branch into a secondary 
plexus as in N. Logani , and as all of the instances in which the 
branches were seen to emanate from the larger cells occurred in the 
open tracts above described, it would appear that these latter serve 
as the special regions in which branching is effected.’ 
We have here, then, the fact that in N. crassum the large 
cells do branch into small filaments of the same general 
diameter as the small hyphae of the spaces, and that such 
branching takes place where these hyphae are most abundant. 
If this be taken in connexion with Mr. Barber’s admission 
that the branching is most frequent in the region of the 
spaces, it will be seen that there are good grounds for 
denying his contention with respect to N. Logani , N. crassum , 
and N. laxum , while the presumption would be in favour of 
2 Trans. R. Soc. Can. VII. iv. 19. 
3 L. c., p. 22. 
1 Ann. of Bot. VI. 335. 
