ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 331 



occur in the protoplasm, not in the vacuoles. Further investigation on 

 this point is much needed, as the author, through lack of material, was 

 unable to complete his investigations. 



Classification of Diatoms.* — C. Mereschkowsky criticises the old 

 method of classification and maintains that the Diatomacea? should be 

 divided into two groups, Mobiles and Immobiles. The most important 

 character as a basis for classification is the presence or absence of an 

 opening in the walls of the frustule. Only those diatoms which possess 

 this opening are endowed with a power of movement, and these are 

 placed by the author in the group Mobiles. This group is divided 

 primarily into Raphidieai and Carinatae, both of which are again sub- 

 divided. Immobiles is divided into Bacilloidere and Anaraphidea;. 

 Details are given as to the genera included in the divisions. 



Polynesian Diatoms.f — The same author gives a list of species of 

 diatoms from Samoa, Tahiti, and the Hawaian Islands, including some- 

 new species and varieties. The contents of a slide made from specimens 

 obtained in a deep sounding in the Pacific are also enumerated. Though 

 the exact locality of this sounding is doubtful, the author considers it to- 

 have been probably off the Californian coast north of San Francisco. 

 Critical notes are appended to many of the records, and the paper is. 

 illustrated by ?> plates. 



Germination of certain FloridesB.J— F. Tobler gives the result of 

 his observations on the germination from the spore, of marine algae 

 belonging to the genera Ceramium, Callithamnion,Dasya, and Dudresnaija.. 

 His object was to discover whether in any of these genera there was 

 any trace of protonema or prothallus stage, which would explain their 

 apparent disappearance during certain seasons of the year at Naples. 

 He finds however nothing which can be regarded as a prothallus, and 

 the plant arising directly from the germinating spore bears a great 

 resemblance to the thallus of the mature plant. The difficulties attend- 

 ing a study of this kind are naturally great, both as regards isolating 

 the spores for cultivation and in keeping the culture pure. 



A summary is given of previous literature on the subject. 



Fungi. 



Taphridium, a New Genus of Protomycetes. § — H. 0. Juel has 

 constituted this new genus for the reception of two parasitic fungi, one 

 of which had been originally described as Taphrina Umbelliferari/m, one 

 of the Exoasceae. He and Lagerheim simultaneously examined these 

 fungi and decided that they were akin to the Protomycetes rather than 

 the Ascomycetes. The so-called asci or sporangia are intercalary on the 

 hyphaa, and from the first are multinucleate. He describes in great 

 detail the different stages in the formation of the sporangia, and the 

 germination process which resembles that of Protomyces. Taphridium 

 differs from Protomyces in the formation of both vegetative and repro- 



* Script. Bot., xviii. (1900-2) pp. 87-98. t Tom cit., pp. 99-164 (3 pis.). 

 t Beib. z. Bot. Centralbl., xiv. (1903) pp. 1-12 (1 pi.). 



§ Bihang K. Svensk. Vet.-Akad. Handl., xxvii. pt. 3, No. 16, 29 pp. (1 pi. and 

 figs, iu text). 



