proceedings: biological society 45 



Pathological problems in the distribution of -perishable plant products: 

 C. L. Shear and W. A. Orton. The enormous losses in recent years 

 caused by the deterioration and decay of fruits and vegetables between 

 the field and the consumer have led to a more active interest in this 

 subject and a desire on the part of those most directly affected to have 

 the causes and means of prevention determined. In most cases fungi 

 are the active agents in causing the destruction of such products, and 

 the problem is primarily pathological. In order to devise means of 

 avoiding these losses, a thorough knowledge of all the factors and con- 

 ditions involved must be qbtained. Each fruit and vegetable has its 

 own peculiarities and its own parasites. In some cases the cause of 

 loss may be traced to the field, and in others to conditions of transporta- 

 tion and handling. In any specific case the cause and responsibility 

 for the loss can be determined only by careful investigation of all the 

 facts. Specific cases of losses of strawberries, peaches, cranberries, 

 watermelons, tomatoes, and potatoes were cited to indicate the com- 

 plexity of the problems and the danger of drawing any general conclu- 

 sions from insufficient data. It was shown that the means of prevent- 

 ing such losses will depend upon the nature of the cause or causes, as 

 determined by a knowledge of all the factors in any particular case. 



H. L. Shantz, Corresponding Secretary. 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 561st meeting of the Society was held at the Cosmos Club, 

 Saturday, December 2, 1916; called to order by President Hay at 

 8 p.m. with 50 persons in attendance. 



The following program was presented: 



W. P. Hay : The discovery of an interesting new tardigrade. 



Professor Hay gave a brief description of a tardigrade belonging to 

 the genus Batillipes, discovered by him some years ago at Beaufort, 

 N. C. It is closely related to B. mirus Richters but differs from that 

 species in a number of important characters. The structure and 

 relationship of the tardigrades were discussed and the conclusion was 

 reached that Batillipes, in spite of its evident specialization along 

 certain lines, is probably the most primitive genus of the group. From 

 Batillipes through Halechiniscus to Oreella and Echiniscus was sug- 

 gested as one line of development, while from Echiniscoides through 

 Milnesium to Macrobiotus and Diphascon appears to be another. The 

 genus Tetrakentron, with its single species T. synaptae, shows a high 

 degree of specialization due to parasitism, and Microlyda is probably 

 the larval form of Halechiniscus. 



Attention was called to the habitat of the ten animalcules belonging 

 to these genera. Five of them, Batillipes, Halechiniscus, Microlyda, 

 Tetrakentron, and Echiniscoides are marine; Echiniscus and Oreella 

 are strictly terrestrial; Macrobiotus is mostly terrestrial or lacustrine, 

 but is represented in salt water by at least two species; Diphascon is 



