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I914] CURRENT LITERATURE 443

Reproductionin Scenedesmus.-AlthoughScenedesmus is a veryfamiliar

alga, thedetailsofitsreproduction had notbeeninvestigated,doubtlessbecause
thecellsareso small. SMITH14 has studiedthecellstructure
and reproductionin
all of the threespecies. The cells are strictlyuninucleate,contain a single
pyrenoid,and have a cell wall consistingoftwolayers. When4-celledcolonies
are formed,the stepsare as follows: The firstnucleardivisionis followedby
a transversecleavageofthecytoplasm,and nucleardivisionin thetworesulting
protoplastsis followedby cleavage furrowsat rightanglesto the firstfurrow.
The pyrenoidthendisappearsand the uninucleateprotoplastselongateuntil
theyextendthe entirelengthof the mothercell. A pyrenoidis now formed
de novowithineach of thefourcells,and cell walls appear. The youngcolony
escapes througha longitudinalrupturein the wall of the mothercell and
assumes the characteristicarrangementby unrolling. In the formationof
8-celledcolonies,thereare threenucleardivisions,the secondand thirdbeing
followedby cytoplasmiccleavages. The materialforthe studywas grownin
pure cultures. Sections were cut from3-5 [ in thicknessand stained in
Flemming'ssafranin-gentian violet-orange combination.-C. J. CHAMBERLAIN.
The embryoof Gyrostachys.-Theoriginand developmentof the embryo
sac of Gyrostachys, morecommonlyknownas Spiranthes,is describedfortwo
species,S. gracilisand S. cernua,by Miss PACE,15 whosepreviousworkallows
herto speak withauthorityupon thissubject. The embryosac is veryirregu-
lar in its development,sometimesarisingfrom4 megaspores,sometimesfrom
2, and sometimesfromonly one. At the fertilization stage the embryosac
may contain4, 5, 6, or 8 nuclei,the 6-nucleatecondition,resultingfroma lack
of one mitosisin the chalazal end of the sac, being the most frequent. The
diploidnumberof chromosomes in S. gracilisis 30, and in S. cernua6o; con-
sequently,the relation,in this respect,is similarto that betweenOenothera
Lamarckianaand 0. gigas,and S. cernuamightbe called a tetraploidform. As
is wellknown,S. cernuais a largerand morevigorousspecies,and thegigantism
is evidentalso in the size of the ovary,the ovules, and the size of the cells.
Miss PACE suggeststhat the subject mightbe worth investigatingexperi-
mentally.-CHARLES J. CHAMBERLAIN.

WestphalianCalamariaceae.-A revisionof the European Calamariaceae,

undertakenin conjunctionwithKIDSTON, impressedupon JONGMANS the frag-
mentaryconditionof our knowledgeof the Calamariceae of the Rheinish-
and figures.
Westphaliancoal fields,and also theinadequacyofthedescriptions
Accordingly,with the cooperationof KUKUK,I6 he examinedand described
14 SMITH, GILBERT M., The cell structure in Scenedesmus.
and colonyformation
ArchivfurProtistenkunde 32 *278-297. pIs. i6, I7. I914.
Is PACE, LULA, Two species of Gyrostachys.Baylor UniversityBull. 17: i-i6.
pI. I. I914.
6 JONGMANS,W. J., and KUKUK, P., Die Calamariaceendes Rheinisch-
Westfalischen Kohlenbeckens.Mededeelingenvan's Rikjs Herbarium.Leiden.
no. 20. Text 8vo. pp. 89. Atlas4to. pIs. 22. I9I3.