Nature I I 3

jUNE 41 I 903] NATURE I I 3 preparation of a medicine or magic which will be so tion of not a few shows a marked a pproach to that charac· efficacious as to overcome the magic of the rain clouds, and teristic of the Cycads, the most primitive of existing seed cause them to give up their stores of water .; for the August plants. These plants, therefore, whilst retaining the out suns in the south-west are rapidly drying up the corn, ward form of ferns, are in reality transitional types. For which, without rain at this period of the year, would be a convenience, these plants, which include the genera failure. But when it is remembered that the Hopi live Heterangium, Lyginodendron, Medullosa, and many others, almost entirely upon vegetable products, of which corn have been placed in a special group, the Cycadofilices or forms almost 8o per cent., it will readily be understood that, Fern-Cycads. The recognition of this group is one of the should the combined efforts of the two sets of priests be more interesting results that has accrued in recent years in not successful, famine must be the result. As each snake fossil botany, and the viaw that the Cycadofilices are the is released with a baho, it bears with it prayers which it remains of a natural bridge connecting the ferns and the is supposed to transmit to the great plumed serpent, who Gymnosperms has received wide support. has influence with the rain gods of the four world quarters. In no case, however, had the fructification of a ny Fern It may be a dded that the fundamental element of nearly Cycad been defi nitely recognised, hence it remained an all Hopi ceremonies is the produccion of a magic which open question whether the Cycadean advance which was will overcome the magic of the rain clouds. so marked a feature of the vegetative organs found its So far as the writer is aware, no Hopi has ever died as counterpart in the reproductive process. a result of a snake-bite during these ceremonies. Nor has In the paper under notice the authors bring forward what he ever seen a priest bitten by a snake. H e is positive they regard as adequa te evidence for assigning a seed to that nothing is done to render the snakes harmless. Nor Lyg-i nodendron, perhaps the best known of all Cycadofilices, do the Hopi have any antidote for the poison of the rattle- owing to its admirable preservation and very common 3.-Priest using the Snake Whip preparatory to picking up a Snake. snake. The Hopi seems thoroughly to understand the rattle occurrence in the calcareous nodules of the Lower Coal snake, and is cautious never to attempt to pick him up nleasures. when in a coiled position. The Snake priest always carries Numerous detached seeds are known from the Pal:oeozoic with him his snake whip, which he shakes over the snake rocks, but in no case has it been ascertained by what plants when coiled, as he is about to pick it up in the fields during these seeds were borne, with the exception of certain forms the hunt, or in the hiva as he transfers it from the snake which have been traced to the extinct family of the bag to the receptacle, or as he herds the snakes in the kiva, Cordaiteae, and the curious seed-like fructifications of two or picks them up on the plaza. Rarely is a snake seen Lycopods, Lepidocarpon and Miadesmia. The rest, although coiled, its ambition being to escape. of great interest in the details of their organisation, have GEORGE A. DORSEY. remained unassigned, being without traces of their origin, like fallen acorns in a forest. In the case, however, of the seeds placed by \Villiamson in his genus Lagenostoma, a re-examination has revealed unexpected points of agreement between the structure of WERE THE FERN-CYC,4DS SEED-BEARING the envelopes of certain of these seeds, on the one hand, and PLANTS? the vegetative organs of Lyginodendron on the other. It THIS was the burden of a preliminary paper read at appears that the seed named Lagenostoma Lomaxi the Royal Society on May 7 by Prof. F. W. Oliver its discoverer, and occurring chiefly at Dulesgate, m and Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S., entitled "Lagenostoma Lancashire, is sometimes still a ttached to its pedicel, and Lomaxi, the seed of Lyginodendron." is found enclosed in an envelope or cupule springing from During recent years the petrified remains of many fern the stalk just below the base of the seed, and extending like plants from the Carboniferous rocks have received close above the micropyle, at least in young specimens. The attention, with the striking result that the internal organisa- cupule, in its relation to the seed, which is quite small, NO. 1753, VOL. 68] © 1903 Nature Publishing Group I 14 NATURE [JuNE 4, 1903 not larger than a pea, may be compared to the husk of a In many cases the requisite chemicals are mixed in hazel-nut in miniature. one tabloid, sulphite, alkali, and bromide, for example tn Both cupule and stalk bear numerous capitate glands, developers, but there are no secret formulre, as the contents some stalked, others sessile, which present the closest agree of every tabloid are clearly set forth on the label. The ment in size, form and structure with the glands which formula, if necessary, can be modified to. any by occur on the vegetative organs of Lyginodendron. It is adding to it a tabloid of one or the other mgredtents; or, the agreement between these glands, 100 close as to amount if preferred, tabloids of simple unmixed substances may be to identity, that forms the ba10is of the attribution of the used throughout. seed to Lyginodendron. There is no other known plant So far as variety goes, practtcally everythmg that ts re from the Coal-measures with glands at all similar, nor is quired in photographic practice is supplied, including even it likely that any unknown Gymnosperm should exactly re such rarely used chemicals as and semble Lyginodendron in these characters. The vascular ammonium persulphate. ts a _large selectiOn . for strands which traverse stalk and cupule present the closest making gold baths for the ton.mg _of pnnts,. and pot:'lsstum agreement with those of Lyginodendron, and these 11nd ammonium chromate is supphed m 24-gram tablotds other characters go to strengthen the conclusion drawn sensitising carbon tissue. Ferrous oxalate and mercunc from a comparison of the glands, and further support the chloride are the only two omissions that we note; perhaps attribution. The evidence will, of course, be weighed by there is some difficulty with regard to these. botanists. Should it find acceptation, we have the follow It appeared not unlikely some of. the ing postt!On. Lyginodendron, a fern-like plant with certain might show signs of deterioratton from thetr mampulatwn Cycadean characters, possessed seeds (on its leaves, so it in the preparation of the tabloids, but those that we have may be inferred from the structure of the stalk and cupule) tested have proved unexceptionable in quality. These pr_epar as fully characterised as those of any known Palreozoic ations are worthy the attention of even the best equtpped gymnosperm. It retains, so far as its vegetative structure photographer working at home in own laboratory, is concerned, the intermediate position already assigned to particularly with regard to the chemtcals that are rarely it, but whereas the fern-like characters have hitherto seemed required. to preponderate, the discovery of the seed inclines the balance strongly on the Gymnospermous side. The germ of the present discovery dates from the time when it became apparent on anatomical grounds that Lyginodendron was A NEW INDEX OF APPLIED SCIENCE. a transitional type. Dr. Scott in his . published writings E have received a copy of the first issue of a new had already prepared the way, and the position now gained W monthly periodical' published at Bruss-;ls.. The the logical sequel. Nor is it likely that Lygint>dendron title Index of the Technical Press, ;1.ppears on tt m the stood alone; we must be prepared to find, what has long languages French, English and The been recognised as a possibility, that many of the plants object of the publication is to a monthly_ mdex of grouped under Cycadofilices already possessed seeds, and articles of general interest appeanng m the techmcal Press thus a considerable proportiol). of the so-called " fern throughout the world, and giving the title. -.yith a brief fronds of the Palreobotanist really belonged to seed-bear explanation, the name of the author, the ongtn, the ?ate ; ng plants. The status of these " ferns " may be expected of publication, and the length. In the case of arttcles to take many years to unravel, owing to the difficulties that appearing in the English, French, a!ld Ge;man _these will be encountered in discriminating between such as bear details a re given in the languages m whtch they ongmally true fern-sporangia and those the sporangia of which are appeared. In the case of articles printed in other languages rea.lly the pollen-sacs of Gymnospermous plants, and in allo they are translated into French. the numerous impressions which are quite sterile. It One very good characteristic of the is tha.t it ts premature to speculate how far back in the fern-series a is printed on one side of the paper only, and m a conyement seed habit obtained, but !he results of further investigations form for cutting out and pastmg on cards for use m con in this field will be awaited with interest.

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