BOTANY. 327 



which he shows that the discoid markings of the spring and 

 a part of the autumn wood are closed by a membrane, as 

 was maintained by Sanio and Hartig. Vesque, in the An- 

 nates des Sciences, states, in an article on " Water in the Stems 

 of Ligneous Plants," referring to a paper by Geleznow, that 

 in some plants the wood is drier than the bark, and in other 

 cases just the reverse; and the relative dryness depends 

 upon what he styles the "transpiratory reserve." 



The anatomy of the root is treated in a paper by Holle, on 

 the "Growing-point of the Roots of Dicotyledons," in which 

 he takes certain exceptions to the classification of roots ac- 

 cording to their anatomical structure, as advanced by Jan- 

 czewski in the Annates des Sciences. Absorption is treated 

 by Vesque in a paper in the Anncdes des Sciences, in which 

 be calls to mind the difference between exhalation and res- 

 piration. In the study of the crystals and albuminoids of 

 plants, we would mention the discovery by Kraus of inulin 

 in orders other than the Composite, in which it was previous- 

 ly known to exist. Kraus notices its occurrence in several 

 species of the orders Cctmpamdacece, Lobellacece, Goodenia- 

 cece, and Stylldece. Harz has discovered in the testa of Sper- 

 gula vulgaris and S. maxima a new fluorescent substance, 

 to which he gives the name of spergulin. Anatomical stud- 

 ies in relation to limited groups are furnished in the papers 

 of Koch on the "Development of the Seeds of the Orobancha- 

 cece," and by Kamienski on the "Development of the Utricu- 

 larice" the former of which appeared in Pringsheim's Jahrbuch^ 

 and the latter in the Proceedings of the society at Warsaw. 



The work of Darwin on the " Effects of Cross- and Self- 

 fertilization in the Vegetable Kingdom," although in reality 

 published in 1876, has not generally reached the public until 

 the present year. It is giving it the highest praise in saying 

 that it is not inferior to any of his previous works in thor- 

 oughness and scientific precision. From the mass of details 

 which it contains, it is not likely to be thoroughly read by the 

 public, who will be satisfied with the review of the work given 

 by Professor Gray in the American Journal of Science for Feb- 

 ruary, or that in the Journal of Botany for March. The care- 

 ful tabulation of accurately conducted investigations shows 

 the decided advantage possessed by cross-fertilized plants. 

 Of course, the book has given rise to violent discussions ; but 



