ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 49 



Observations on the Nucleolus.* — F. Cavara has made observations 

 on the nucleolus of the embryo-sac of Lilium candidum which lead him 

 to believe that during division the nucleolus extrudes a small corpuscle 

 by a process of gemmation. This corpuscle, he believes, is derived 

 from the central and more slightly staining part, and is probably used 

 for the formation of the spindle. The much more deeply staining 

 peripheral portion of the nucleolus, he suggests, is placed at the dis- 

 posal of the chromosomes. 



Glycogen from Yeast. t — A. Harden and W. J. Young have studied 

 the glycogen prepared by extracting yeast. They find its chemical com- 

 position to be represented by the formula O 6 H 10 O 5 , thus showing its 

 identity in composition with glycogen prepared from animal sources. The 

 optical activity is also the same, and from a consideration of the various 

 properties of glycogen from yeast, and from animal sources, it appears 

 that no well-marked difference exists between the two. 



New Proteid from Maize.f — E. Donard and H. Labbe describe a new 

 proteid, maisine, which they have extracted from seeds of maize. Its 

 analysis corresponds to a chemical composition C 184 H 300 N 46 O 51 S. It is 

 insoluble in cold or hot water, and in the various salt solutions, soluble 

 in methyl and ethyl alcohol, insoluble in aqueous acetic acid, but soluble 

 in aqueous solutions of soda or potash, even when very dilute. 



Reserve Carbohydrates of the Albumen of Palms.§ — E. Lienard 



has studied chemically the carbohydrates contained in the seeds of 

 Areca Catechu, Chamc&rops excelsa, Astrocaryum vulgare, (Enocarpus 

 Bacaba, Enjthea edulis, and Sagus Rumphii. He finds in each case a 

 small amount of saccharose, and also, as a result of fractional hydro- 

 lysis, mannose and, in less quantity, galactose. 



Detection of Phosphorus in Plants. || — A. Arcangeli discusses the 

 value of the microchemical reagents that have been proposed for the 

 detection of phosphorus in plant tissues, for example the employment of 

 ammonium molybdate and nitric acid, and, in order to render the result 

 more evident, "the subsequent addition of either pyrogallic acid or 

 stannous chloride, which yield respectively a brown and a blue colora- 

 tion. He has made numerous experiments, and has come to the con- 

 clusion that as yet no satisfactory microchemical method has been 

 established for the purpose, for the phosphomolybdate reaction does not 

 always take place ; the tissues respond to the reagent with different 

 degrees of density (independently of the quantity of phosphorus they 

 contain) ; the molybdic reagent is capable of giving the blue coloration 

 with stannous chloride independently of the presence of phosphorus, 

 and is liable to be influenced by the presence of other substances. 



Caoutchouc-yielding Landolphias of the French Congo.H— Aug. 

 Chevalier gives short botanical descriptions of three species of herba- 



* Bull. Soc. Bot. Ital. (1902) pp. 108-12 (5 figs.). 

 t Journ. Chem. Soc, lxxxi. (1902) pp. 1224-33. 



J Comptea Rendus, cxxxv. (1902) pp. 744-6. § Tom. cit., pp. 593-5. 

 || Atti Soc. Toscana Sci. Nat., xviii. (1902) pp. 214-32. 

 Tf Comptes Rendus, cxxxv. (1902) pp. 512-5. 



Feb. 18th, 1903 ■ 



