164 Shiv Ram Kashyap . — The Structure and Development of 
and are ripe in September to October. The spores were often found in 
bluish-green masses filling the space between the last normal leaf-sheath and 
the stem below the spike. 
For very early stages the spores were grown in the laboratory in soil 
brought from the river bank where the prothalli were ordinarily found 
growing. The soil, which is a mixture of sand and clay, was sterilized by 
heat before the spores were sown. For the study of the mature prothallus, 
material was always collected from the river-side. 
Germination of the Spore. 
The spores germinate readily. The first wall is curved, and it divides 
the spore into a small cell containing a few chloroplasts and a larger cell 
Text-fig. 2. 
which contains most of the chloroplasts. Later on the chloroplasts disappear 
from the small cell (Figs. 1 and 2). The next divisions are very variable. 
The small cell may grow out soon into a rhizoid, or may remain as it is for 
a much longer time, or it may not grow out at all. The larger cell may 
grow in length and become divided by transverse walls only, so that it forms 
a longer or shorter filament (Figs. 2 and 10). In other cases a longitu- 
dinal wall may be first formed in the larger cell, and either one or both of 
the cells thus formed may grow forward or laterally and divide by trans- 
verse walls (Fig. 3). In yet other cases the walls in the larger cell may 
