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history of the organization, its proposed dates of meeting, list of 
members, books in the library, etc. The officers for the present 
year, beginning last October, are President, Prof. J. W. Caldwell ; 
Vice-President, Rev. H. R. Johnson; Corresponding Secretary, 
Prof. J. G. Ogden; Recording Secretary, Miss W. L. Matthews ; 
Treasurer, C. C. Mellor; Curator, John A. Shafer. 
Reviews of Foreign Literature. 
A New Theory of the Process of Growth of the Plant Cell.— 
In the “Berichte der Deutschen Bot. Gesellschaft” for August, 
1890, pp. 196, is an article by Dr. Julius Wiesner entitled, “An 
Attempt to Explain the Growth of the Plant Cell.” The writer 
states that most botanists assume that the growth of the cell and 
its parts takes place by means of intussusception; others discard 
this theory entirely and claim that the method is that of apposi- 
tion; still another class try to harmonize known facts by a 
combination of the two theories, namely, that both methods of 
growth occur. Then follows a brief statement of an explanation 
which is entirely independent of the much-vexed question of 
intussusception or apposition. : 
This theory, if substantiated, would lead to an over-throw of 
several other long cherished opinions respecting not only the 
‘manner of growth of the cell but the nature of the substance 
composing it, and is altogether of such a revolutionary character 
as to warrant an almost literal translation of the article referred 
to. 
In his explanation he first shows the analogy between growth 
in general and that of the smallest part of the organism ; for 
example, the growth of an organ, leaf or stem, takes place by 
an increase in volume coming from the extension of a whole or 
part of its cells. There may be unequal development, one part 
growing faster than the other, but the whole organ gets its shape, 
size, etc., from the growth of the cells composing it. Now the 
cell growth is similar to this, in so far that it is accomplished by 
the parts composing it. Without any apparent shoving or dis- 
placement, it grows in surface, in length, and in thickness, the 
growth always preserving the intercalary nature of all new forma- 
tion. This very idea of intercalary growth led to the notion of 
