292 Lang.—Development of Cycadean Sporangia . 
band was rendered prominent by the use of Heidenhain’s 
Haematoxylin (Fig. 25). In the pollen-chambers of the seeds 
the free ends of the pollen-tubes were always open and empty 
(Fig. 23). As the vertical section of the chamber shows 
(Fig. 24), the spermatozoids could easily find their way into 
the archegonial depression, and in fact remains of dead sper¬ 
matozoids were not unfrequently met with against the wall of 
the latter ; they were usually entangled in an amorphous sub¬ 
stance which could be traced into the necks of fertilized 
archegonia. Analogy would appear to justify the conclusion 
that the archegonial depression had for a time been filled with 
fluid, in which the motion of the spermatozoids had taken 
place ; this had, however, disappeared at the time of collect¬ 
ing the material. More or less disorganized spermatozoids, 
which had failed to effect fertilization, were also found just 
within the archegonium. 
In the cytoplasm of the ovum, at the end adjoining the 
archegonium-neck, remains of the spermatozoid, by which 
fertilization had been effected, were frequently visible. The 
persistent part was the spiral cilia-bearing band ; it was usually 
so altered in form as to give no idea of the shape of the 
spermatozoid, though the cilia attached to it were visible. 
Fig. 26, however, shows one of the sections through such 
a spiral band, the form of which has been retained ; recon¬ 
struction of the series showed that it formed a conical spiral 
of five turns. 
These observations taken together show clearly that the 
behaviour of the pollen-grain in the pollen-chamber of 
Stangeria , the production of spermatozoids, and the mode 
of entrance of the latter into the archegonium, agree with 
what has been described for Cycas 1 and Zamia 2 . Further, 
although well-fixed spermatozoids were not available for 
study, the form of the spiral band (blepharoplast) leaves no 
room for doubt that they were of the same type as those of 
the genera mentioned. 
1 Ikeno, Jahrb. fur wiss. Bot. xxxii, p. 557. 
2 Webber, Botanical Gazette, xxiv, p. 16. 
