THE CYTOLOGY OF THE SUGARCANE 521 
1919. The inflorescences, which flowered in this plot of cane, showed in 
addition to many brownred dehiscing anthers, a rather large number of 
yellow ones which remained closed. Some inflorescences were used to 
study the development of the seed and of the embryo. But very few 
embryo’s had been formed, many embryosacks were present in which, a 
number of days after flowering, no trace of an embryo could be detec- 
ted. In one of the inflorescences, which was carefully examined but a 
very small number of seeds was found. It was curious that nearly all 
of these occurred on one axis of the inflorescence. 
Ardjoeno showed in the climate of Kepandjen (Boemiajoe), which is 
moister and cooler than that of Pasoeroean, a regular reduction divi- 
sion and high fertility, on the contrary however, during a period of 
drought in the warm coast-climate of Pasoeroean, irregular reduction 
division and sterility. It is probably, that the drought, possible also 
the mean high temperature, influenced the metabolism of the 
. sporogenous cells to such an extent that a normal karyokinesis, some- 
times even a normal cell division, could not take place. Many such cases 
~ are known in the literature. 
TISCHLER devotes in his „Allgemeine Pflanzenkaryologie”’ 1) a long 
chapter to irregular cell- and nucleus-divisions. He begins by saying: 
„Es wird nicht verwundern, dass der komplizierte Ablauf der mitoti- 
schen Teilungen gestört werden kann, wenn die Aussenfaktoren in 
einem dafur ungünstigen Sinne geändert werden können.” 
Wounds, extreme temperatures and narcotics, such as chloral, ether 
and chloroform, can act in a disturbing way on cell-divisions, just as 
certain cell-poisons such as lithiumchloride, chininesulfate, coppersul- 
fate, phenol and strychnine. TISCHLER remarks: „Alle Autoren sind 
sich darüber einig, dass die sporogenen Zellen besonders empfindlich 
gegen derlei Eingriffe sind 2). 
NEMEC found, that treatment with chloroform gave rise to all kind 
of irregularities in the divisions of the pollenmothercells of Larix de- 
cidua; divisions begun as heterotype ones, occasionally changing to 
such of a somatic type. 
SAKAMURA induced pollen-mothercells of Vicza faba, the gardenbean, 
1) Handbuch der Pflanzenanatomie Bd. II. G. TrscHrer, Allgemeine Pflan- 
zenkaryologie p. 425. Berlin Borntrager 1921—22. 
2) ibid p. 427. 
