66 
of lead, or chloride or hydrated oxide of barium to the spirit. 
The best results have been obtained by plunging the specimens 
first into boiling water before putting them into the above men- 
tioned mineral solutions. 
Anatomy and Physiology of Stinging Hairs. Dr. G. Haber- 
_landt has examined the structure of the stinging hairs in a num- 
ber of plants. The main features show a great uniformity in the 
multicellular base surmounted by the very large secreting cell. 
Below the silicified apex of the latter the cell wall is always very 
thin. . The substance which gives the stinging properties to the 
fluid of the glands of the common stinging nettle is not, as has 
been generally supposed, formic acid, which could not produce 
the effect in such small quantities. Dr. Haberlandt states that 
the irritation must be produced by a fixed substance, since the 
dried contents of the gland will cause the ordinary effect of a 
nettle sting if introduced beneath the skin. He finds always in 
the fluid a substance which exhibits all the properties of an 
albuminoid. The substance which produces the inflammation is 
probably a compound of the nature of an unformed ferment.— 
(Journ. Roy. Mic. Soc., Dec., 1886.) 
Lamarck's Herbarium. The authorities of the Jardin des 
Plantes have purchased this valuable collection from the Univer- 
sity of Rostock, where it was practically inaccessible. The herb- 
arium contains many type specimens which were described in 
the Encyclopédie Methodique (Nature). 
Ramie Fibre. The cultivation of Bochmeria nivea was intro- 
duced in Spain in 1870, and a company known as the Compagnie 
Ramie Frangaise are separating the fibre at less cost and of better 
quality than that of hemp or jute. The fabric produced is glossy 
and resembles pongee silk, and the refuse is used in the manu- 
facture of paper.—(Gardener’s Chronicle.) 
Transpiration-Stream in cut Branches. (Proc. Cambridge 
Phil. Soc., V., pp. 330-367.) “ Prof. F. Darwin and Mr. R. W. 
Phillips have repeated Dufour’s experiments on the effect on 
transpiration of two opposite incisions in a branch. They find a 
general difference in the results between Angiosperms and Gym- 
nosperms, as represented by Helianthus and Taxus. In the 
