ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 489 



the function of transpiration. The appearance of chlorosis and the 

 lowering of the transpiratory function appear to be indissolubly con- 

 nected with one another. 



Changes resulting from Etiolation.* — According to M. G. Andre, 

 the effect of etiolation on the maize and on the lupin is not identical. 

 In each case the total amount of carbon is reduced by about one-half, 

 while the proportion of nitrogen remains about the same. But the 

 amount of asparagin in the lupin is much larger than that in the maize, 

 the latter plant having apparently used up a portion of the asparagin for 

 the production of new albuminoids. As regards mineral substances, 

 silica is, in the maize, 30 times more abundant in the etiolated plant 

 than in the seed, and 15 times more abundant in the lupin. The rela- 

 tive amount of lime is the reverse in the two plants when etiolated ; 

 phosphoric acid is more abundant in the etiolated than in the insolated 

 plant. In the case of the maize the etiolated plant contains more potas- 

 sium than the seed ; but this is not the case with the lupin. 



Function of Solanine-t — M. G. Albo finds this alkaloid in all parts, 

 especially in the seed, of several species of Solanaceae. It decreases in 

 amount during germination, and again increases as the plant approaches 

 maturity. The phenomena presented by seeds germinating and by plants 

 growing in the dark show that solanine is not a migratory form of pro- 

 teid substances, but is a true reserve substance which the plant utilises 

 during early periods of growth. Its physiological function is entirely 

 different from that of asparagin. 



y. General. 



Stigmaria.J — M. Grand'Eury has come to the conclusion that the 

 fossils known as Stigraaria are not, as has been supposed, the roots of 

 Sigillaria, but are an independent organism. The true roots of Sigillaria 

 are Stigmariopsis, and M. Grand'Eury enumerates the points of difference 

 between these structures and Stigmaria. The Stigmariae are probably 

 the rhizomes of aquatic and marsh plants. 



B. D. Jackson's Glossary of Botanical Terms.§ — This most useful 

 work of reference contains a definition of nearly 15,000 terms used by 

 botanists in all works published down to the end of the year 1899. The 

 etymological origin of the term is given in all cases, and, where neces- 

 sary, the name of the author who first used it in the sense indicated. 

 It is by far the most complete work of the kind yet published in any 



language. 



B. CRYPTOGAMIA. 



Muscineee. 



Development of the Peristome-teeth of the Sporogone of Mosses- 1| — 

 Herr M. von Derschau traces two distinct periods in the development 

 of the peristome of mosses, the species chiefly examined being Funaria 

 hygrometrica, Grimmia pulvinata, G. commutata, and Brachythecium velu- 

 tinum. The first period ends with the commencement of the appearance 



* Comptes Rendus, cxxx. (1900) pp. 1198-1201. 



t Ann. Agron., xxv. (1899) pp. 621-2. See Journ. Cheni. Soc, 1900, Abstr. ii. 

 p. 234. t Comptes Rendus, cxxx. (1900) pp. 1051-7. 



§ London, 1900, xii. and 327 pp. 

 U Bot. Centralbl., lxxxii. (1900) pp. 160-8, 192-200 (1 pi.). 



