336 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



i.e. HaJopteris and Gladostephus, might produce satisfactory results. 

 Comparisons are drawn between Sphacelariaceas and neighbouring 

 genera. The division of the genus Sphacelaria into autonomous and 

 parasitic species is pronounced artificial, and it is shown that one and the 

 same species may be parasitic, or may penetrate merely, or live epiphyti- 

 cally on animal, vegetable, or mineral substrata. In the case of parasi- 

 tism, the use of eau-de-Javelle is recommended as a rough guide to the 

 extent of the host-plant which is attacked. The remainder of the book 

 deals with various genera and species, new and old. The illustrations are 

 many and most instructive. 



Corallineae of Japan.* — K. Yendo gives a list of the Corallinaceae 

 hitherto recorded from Japan, which number 68, and include species of 

 Choreonemua, Melobesia, Mastophora, Litkothamnion, Lithophyllum, 

 Goniolithon, Amphiroa, Gheilosporum and Gorallind. 



Bang-ia atropurpurea.f — G-. B. De Toni has compared authentic 

 specimens of certain species of Bangia, and finds that B. sericea Bory. is 

 identical with B. atropurpurea Ag., and that B.fuscopurpurea Lyngb. is 

 the marine form of that species. Synonyms of B. atropurpurea Ag. 

 forma fuscopurpurea are B. condensata Zan., B. oceUata Zan., and B. 

 dura Zan. Other species are mentioned as being closely allied to 

 B. atropurpurea. 



Byssus purpurea.* — G. B. De Toni and A. Forti have succeeded 

 in establishing the identity, synonomy and relationship of Byssus pur- 

 purea Lightfoot, which they found themselves in Iona last year, and 

 have compared with types and authentic specimens of other species. 

 They find that B. purpurea is a good species of Rhodocorton, and has 

 for synonyms Byssus rubra Huds., Gailithamnion purpureum Harv., 

 and Ghantransia coccinea Ktitz. A diagnosis is given of the species, 

 and a list of known habitats. No fruit has ever been recorded, and 

 the authors think this may be attributed to the aerobic habit of the 

 plant. 



Phytoplankton of Fresh Water.§ — ■ H. Bachmann publishes a 

 resume of our knowledge of fresh-water plankton under the following 

 headings : (1) Definition, in which the various terms regarding habitat 

 and depth are defined. (2) Methods of investigation. (3) Constituents 

 of phytoplankton. (4) Quantity of plankton. (5) Periodicity. (6) Sta- 

 tistics of variation. (7) The flowering of water. (8) Horizontal dis- 

 tribution. (0) Vertical distribution. (10) Conditions of life in the 

 lakes. (11) Floating capability of phytoplankton. (12) Classification 

 of waters according to their phytoplankton. (13) Origin of plankton. 

 (14) The importance of plankton to the animal world. The paper 

 closes with a fairly long list of the literature on the subject. 



A Fountain Alga.|| — L. Beesley describes his successful cultivation 

 of a new fresh-water alga, which resembles certain species of Gongrosira 



* Bot. Mag. Tokyo, xvi. (1902) 12 pp. 



t Att. Pontif. Accad. Rom. Nuov. Linc.,lvii. (1904) 4 pp. 



J Att. R. 1st. Veneto., lxiii. (1904) pp. 205-10. 



§ Bot. Zeit, lxii. (1904) pp. 82-106. 



|| New Phytolcg., iii. (1904) pp. 74-82 (1 pi. and 2 figs, in text). 



