i 6 
A. C. Seward. 
(twenty minutes) of his results, illustrating the main points by 
black-board sketches; this included a description of the anatomy 
of the stem, leaf and root, the arrangement of the young leaves at 
the apex of the stem, the manner of exit of the leaf-traces and 
roots, with notes on other characters of morphological interest. 
Demonstration sections of Helniinthostachys, BotrycliianiVirginianum 
and other species were also circulated as additional examples of 
the Ophioglossaceas. B. and C. undertook an anatomical investiga¬ 
tion of Dcnnstccdtia apiifoUa (=Dicksonia apiifolia Sw. of Hooker 
and Baker), a fern which differs in the tubular form of the stele 
and in certain soral characters from the typical Cyatheaceae. The 
account of this work included a description of the anatomical 
structure of the stem, —the position of the protoxylem elements 
being determined by sections cut near the apex,—also an account 
of the origin of the leaf-traces and roots and the structure of the 
sori and sporangia. A complete plant of Tricliomanes reniforme was 
given to D., who gave a brief account of the morphology of the 
species, and compared the anatomical characters with those of 
other members of the same family as described in Mr. Boodle’s 
recent paper on the Hymenophyllaceie. 1 Another species of the 
same genus ( T. radicans ), chosen on account of its axillary buds, 
was similarly treated by E. The investigation of the development 
and nature of the absciss-layer in the petiole of a species of Oleandra 
was undertaken by F., and a comparative examination of the leaves 
of several ferns selected from the point of view of biological 
interest (e.g.: Drymoglossum, &c.) was carried out by the same 
student. B. and C. also examined the structure of the stem and 
the two kinds of leaves,—bracket-leaves and foliage-leaves,—of 
Drynciria quercifolia , special attention being paid to an inquiry into 
the structure and probable function of the peculiar scales, which 
form a dense covering over the fleshy rhizome. A comparative 
account of the structure of fern roots was given by G., while H. 
dealt with the anatomy of a species of Gleichenia on the lines of 
Poirault’s work. 2 D. also made preparations of such fern prothalli 
as could be obtained from the Garden, including prothalli of 
Ceratopteris grown under water and on a damp surface, and 
eventually gave a description of the structure of the sexual organs 
as shown in the series of specimens. 
Annals of Botany,” vor,. xiv., p. 455, 1900. 
2 Anu. Sci. Nat. (Bot.) [8], vor,. xviii, 1894. 
