614 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



regarding the nomenclature of Sphagnum. 4. It was decided that 

 diagnoses must, from January 1908 onwards, be written in Latin, and, 

 though short, must contain at least one distinguishing character. The 

 Latin diagnosis may be followed by a more detailed description in one of 

 the four languages — English, French, Italian, or German. 5. Some 

 proposals which Roll put forward as to establishing priority and 

 hindering the changing of old names, were rejected by the Congress. 



Moss Criticisms.* — G. Roth replies to some remarks in L. Loeske's 

 recently published Moss-studies. Loeske charges Roth with having 

 drawn upon Limpricht's Laubmoose for the descriptions in his Euro- 

 paische Laubmoose. Roth defends himself. Loeske condemns Roth's 

 treatment of Dr&panocladus as retrograde, and the descriptions as very 

 inferior to those of Warnstorf. Roth claims that his figures are better 

 than any descriptions. And so on. 



Hepatics and Contamination.! — J. Archer, in a brief note, calls 

 attention to the manner in which hepatics contrive to gather up smut 

 and dirt. Even where other Cryptogams near a large town were fairly 

 •clean, the hepatics were coated with dirt. 



Thallophyta. 

 Algae. 



(By Mrs. E. S. Gepp.) 



Fixing of Algae.} — A. Bonnet describes a new 7 method of fixing algae 

 by means of quinone. Filamentous algae, or species with a delicate 

 thallus — for instance, Siphoneae, Confervaceae, Conjugate, minute Phaeo- 

 phyceae, or Florideae — can be well preserved by treating with freshly 

 prepared quinone, in the proportion of 4 : 1000. The fixing acts equally 

 well in fresh-water or in salt-water, but in the latter case the quinone 

 solution becomes brown more rapidly than in fresh-water. An alga once 

 fixed in this medium resists much better the dehydration necessary for 

 the mounting in glycerin jelly, Canada balsam, or other media. Chlo- 

 rophyll becomes greenish-brown, of a more or less intense shade according 

 as to whether it is already charged with phycophein or phycoerythrin. 

 The rest of the protoplasm dyes a light yellow, while the cellulose mem- 

 branes remain uncoloured. 



Leuvenia, a New Genus of Flagellates.§ — N. L. Gardner describes 

 and figures a new genus of Flagellates containing one species, Leuvenia 

 nutans. It was discovered on the surface of quiet, fresh-water in a shady 

 ravine in California by Professor Osterhout, and, subsequently, in water 

 highly charged with organic matter, at San Francisco. The motile stage, 

 grow T th stage, and palmella stage are described. As regards the systematic 

 position the author says : — The somewhat unusual combination of mor- 

 phological features which this organism possesses, such as the inconstant 



* Allgem. Bot. Zeitschr., xvi. (1910) pp. 123-4. 



t Lancashire Nat., iii. (1910) p. 67. 



% C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, lxviii. (1910) pp. 957-8. 



§ Univ. California Publications (Bot.) iv. (1910) pp. 97-106 (pi.). 



