598 
Browne.—Anomalous Traces in the 
steeply upwards and inwards within the bundle until they are separated 
from the axial protoxylem by but a single parenchymatous cell. Their 
number then rapidly decreases and they soon die out, so that the connexion 
is not effected. One of the traces of the sixth whorl of Cone F of E . maxi¬ 
mum was interesting because it appeared to be intermediate between the 
trace just described and normal traces. In it all the tracheides of the in¬ 
coming trace died out in the metaxylem of the bundle, except one which 
joined on to the axial protoxylem. It should be borne in mind that whether 
the protoxylem of the traces of the lowest whorls of cones of E. maximum 
passes out more or less horizontally or upwards or downwards through the 
bundle, it is always deflected downwards in its passage through the cortex. 
The extent to which the protoxylem of a trace may be deflected 
within the bundle is variable. In Cone B, in which the axis of the cone had 
elongated fully, the deflexion was sometimes as much as 420 /x. This was, 
of course, exclusive of the usually much greater deflexion of the trace in the 
cortex. Though on the whole greatest in the lowest whorls the deflexion 
within the bundle of the protoxylem that is about to depart is not confined 
to these whorls. Cases of a downward deflexion within the bundle of over 
150 /x were observed to occur at the level of the fourth and fifth whorls of 
Cone G. 
The cases in which the protoxylem destined to the trace passes up¬ 
wards and outwards through the bundle seem to be examples of an early 
preparation for the departure of the trace. They are by no means confined 
to the region of the lowest or lower whorls. I have observed cases in which 
a small canal, left by the destruction of the protoxylem elements, separated 
from a relatively main protoxylem canal of the axis about 2 mm. below its 
departure from the bundle. So great a distance between the separation of 
the protoxylem of the trace and its departure from the bundle is very excep¬ 
tional. Quite often, however, the distance is between 0-5 and 0-75 mm. 
As the metaxylem was still undifferentiated at the time at which the 
tracheides of the trace were undergoing lignification, traces showing the 
A anomaly afford examples of a disjunction between the vascular system of 
the a*xis and that of some of the appendages. This isolation of appendicular 
protoxylem is to a large extent remedied later by the development of axial 
metaxylem round the incoming protoxylem. It should, however, be borne 
in mind that in this species the metaxylem'remains separated from the 
more deeply seated protoxylem (Barratt, pp. 223-4; Browne, 1921, p. 447). 
We may, I think, see in this separation of protoxylem and metaxylem 
in the cone of E. maximum a feature correlated with the presence in this 
species of the A anomaly. In other words, it is suggested that the incon¬ 
venient depth of the axial protoxylem in the lower part of the cone may s 
have increased the number of cases in which the xylem of the sporangio- 
phore fails to enter into connexion with the protoxylem of the axis. It is 
