292 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



complete. The testicle degenerates without the ejaculatory apparatus 

 apparently exhibiting any appreciable modification ; its atrophy seems 

 determined by the time the animal has been in captivity. The elements 

 break down in inverse order of their genesis. 



Transmission of Acquired Characters.* — Max Morse discusses 

 afresh this much discussed question, and gives an answer in the negative. 

 He defines an acquired character as a modification of an organism in 

 its ontogeny produced by reactions to external stimuli. Without adding 

 anything new to the discussion he considers the pro's and con's in a 

 fair way, and concludes that it is difficult to imagine how some specific 

 change in a remote part of the body can be registered on the germ-cell, 

 with "the result that the offspring has reproduced in it the same specific 

 modification. 



Gastrulation in Lizards.j — Karl Peter communicates a sixth paper 

 on the embryology of lizards. 



The structure known as the " embryonic shield " is of different 

 morphological value at different times. To begin with, it consists of 

 the two germinal layers, — both uniformly thickened. Afterwards, be- 

 sides the uniform area, there is a zone in which only the inner layer is 

 thickened. After the retrogression of the endodermic cushion, the 

 ectoderm-plate alone appears on surface view. The mesoderm never 

 coalesces with the endodermic substratum. The notochord is wholly 

 mesodermic in origin, and owes its origin to the mesodermic head- 

 process which proliferates in front of the primitive plate. _ 



It is not easy to summarise an intricate embryological paper like 

 this, but we would give prominence to the author's conclusion that the 

 primordium of the notochord is mesodermic. 



Carnivorous Fowls and their Fecundity.! — F. Houssay submits 

 the following table of fecundity for the first year of four sets of fowls. 



Number of Weight of Average W T eight 



Generation. Eggs Hen of Egg. 



Graminivorous . . 97 5*360 kgm. 55 grm. 



1st carnivorous . . 148 8'674kgni. 58 grm. 



2nd carnivorous . . 167 10-270 kgm. 61 grm. 



3rd carnivorous . . 145 8 '426 kgm. 58 grm. 



In attempting to rear a fourth generation, Houssay obtained from 

 eighty eggs in six sets, fourteen developments, and only seven chicks. 



°f Alimentary intoxication influences the gonads, and tends to sterility 

 and arrested development and premature death of offspring. It is 

 cumulative in its effect and tends to a preponderance of males. 



Corpus luteum of Dasyurus viverrinus.§ — F. P. Sandes communi- 

 cates the results of researches on the corpus luteum, with observations 

 on the growth and atrophy of the graafian follicle. His results show 



* Ohio Naturalist, iv. (1903) pp. 25-30. 



t Arch. Mikr. Anat., lxiii. (1904) pp. 659-700 (2 pis. and 2 figs.). 



t Comptcs Rendus, cxxxvii. (1908) pp. 934-6. 



§ Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxviii. (1903) pp. 364-405 (15 pis.). 



