202 Nichols, A morphological study of Juniperus communis var. depressci. 
writer’s results withthose of Noren that the cytological phenomena 
in the American variety resemble in most important respects those 
in tlie European form. 
Collections of material were made near New Haven, Connecti¬ 
cut during the years 1906, 1907, and 1908. The frequency of 
collections and the manner of treating the material yaried somewhat. 
Staminate cones and first year ovules were collected at intervals 
of from two days to a week and placed directly in the killing fluid. 
The younger second year ovules were collected every one or two 
days and split lengthwise with a sharp knife before treating with 
reagents. After the development of a firm integument it was found 
necessary to carefully dissect out the nncellus before immersing it 
in the killing fluid. Collections were made daily after the appearance 
of archegonia. In the later stages material was killed and fixed 
in the field, but in the earlier stages this was usually done in the 
laboratory. Material brought indoors and kept in water for not 
more than a week appears to develop normally. Varions killing 
and fixing Solutions were tried, and excellent results were obtained 
with the modification of Flemming’s chrom-acet-osmic fluid re- 
commended by Mottier (1897). The writer expresses his thanks 
to Prof. Alexander W. Evans, atwhose Suggestion this work was 
undertaken, for his helpfnl criticism and kind advice. 
The microsporangium. 
Development of the microspore mother cells. — Hof¬ 
meister (1848) describes the microsporangium of Pinus maritima 
as being in the spore mother cell condition in November, and this 
seems to be the first pnblished reference to the development of 
this structure among the Gymnosperms. Goebei (1881) makes 
several observations in regard to the development of the 
microsporangia in this group, and in Pinus traces back the 
archesporium to a single hypodermal cell. In Thuja (Biota), which 
he cites as typical of the Cupresseae, he finds that the archesporium 
is likewise of hypodermal origin, but whether it arises from one 
or several cells he does not make ont. He also makes the State¬ 
ment, later upheld by Coulter and Chamberlain (1901) and 
other recent writers, that in all important respects the development 
of the microsporangium in the Gymnosperms follows the same course 
as in the ensporangiate pteridophytes. In the cycad Stangeria 
Lang (1897) finds that the sporogenons cells “are derived by 
periclinal division from cells of the sub-epidermal layer”. A similar 
origin is reported by Coker (1903 b) in Taxodium, and Coulter 
and Land (1905) are of the opinion that in Torreya the arche¬ 
sporium arises from a hypodermal cell. 
The staminate cones of Juniperus communis var. depressci 
become recognizable late in the snmmer and pass the winter in a 
more or less rudimentary condition. In material collected No¬ 
vember 28 th it is in most cases impossible to distingnish vegetative 
leaves from sporophylls, and many of the latter do not begin to 
