28 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



series of pot experiments was undertaken to test the possibility of tlie 

 assimilation of free nitrogen by the cotton plant. To 2 pots no nutri- 

 ent solution was added, the plants growing in the sterilized sand. To 

 the others a nutrient solution of potassium phosphate, magnesium sul- 

 phate, potassium chlorid, and calcium chlorid was added. To some of 

 the pots an infusion of soil from a cotton held was added. The amount 

 of nitrogen gained, either with or without soil inoculation, was so small 

 as to fall within the limits of error of the experiments, and while the 

 results obtained were wholly negative, yet the authors think the non- 

 assimilation of free nitrogen by the cotton plant is not proved. 



The essentials of botany, C. E. Bessey (Xeiv York: Henry Holt if- Co., 1896, pp. 

 VII, 350, figs. 2~o). — To all those acquainted with former editions of this useful work, 

 the present revised and enlarged edition will be very welcome. A commendably 

 simple and direct treatment is adopted, and technical terms are employed only where 

 their use would seem to make the text plainer. The advance of our knowledge 

 relating to the protoplasm and the plant cell have required the rewriting of the 

 chapters devoted to those subjects. The same applies to the chapter on plant phys- 

 iology. 



The author, agreeing with Debary and others, excliules the slime molds from the 

 plant kingdom, but for the beuefit of those disposed to retain them they are consid- 

 ered in an appendix to the jirotophytes. Pandorina aud Yolvox also seem to be con- 

 sidered as probably outside the plant world. The terms anthophyta, spermatophyta, 

 phanerogams, etc., are used in such a way as to show their proper restrictions and 

 uses. 



The systematic arrangement of the angiosperms oifers some novelties that will 

 require the test of time to be accepted or rejected by systematists. 



Useful Australian plants, J. H. Maiden {Agl. Gaz. N. S. Wales, 7 {1896), No. 5, 

 pp. 259-262, pis. 2). — Woolly-butt {Eucalyptus longifolia) and tufted hair grass {Des- 

 champsia ciespitosa) are illustrated aud described, with notes on commercial value. 



Australian fungi, D. McAlpine {Agl. Gaz. N. S. Wales, 7 {1896), No. 5, pp. 299- 

 S07, pis. 2). 



Experimental investigation of paratonic curving of firs, J. Weisner {Ber. dexd. 

 Hot. Ges., 14 {1896), No. S,pp. 180-185). — The author discusses the curving during 

 growth due to external influences as opposed to that caused spontaneously. 



The role of anatomy in distinguishing critical species, P. Parmentier {Ann. 

 sci. nai. Bot., ser. 8, 2 {1896), No. 1-3, pp. 1-36). 



Contributions to the comparative anatomy of the Caprifoliaceee, Linsbauer 

 {Verliandl. zoolog.-iof. Ges. Wien, 1895, p. 43; abs. in Bot. Ceuthl. Beihefte, 6 {1896), No. 

 2-3, p. 140). 



Comparative histological studies of the wood of the Pomaceae, A. Burger- 

 stein {Sitzungsher. Acad, wissench. Math, naturw. classe, 104 {1895), I, pp. 723-772; abs. 

 in Bot. CentM. Beihefte, 6 {1896), No. 2-3, ptp. 128, 129). 



Investigations on the embryo sac of fleshy plants, \l. D'Hubert {Ann. sci. nat. 

 Bot., ser. 8, 2 {1896), No. 1-3, jjp- 37-128, pis. 3). 



Observations on the structure of Cystopus candidus, H. T. AVager {Internat. 

 Jour. Micros, and Nat. Sci., 6 {1896), No. 31, pp. 225-227). 



Concerning the anatomical structure and ash of leaves of Phytolaccaceae 

 and their relation to systematic arrangement, C. Schulze {Inaug. Diss. Erlangen, 

 1895, pp. 56, pi. 1; abs. in Bot. Centbl. Beihefte, 6 {1896), No. 2-3, pp. 133, 134). 



The form of the leaves of sugar beets and some of their transformations, R. 

 Kneifel {Oesterr. ungar. Ztschr. Zuckerind. und Landiv., 1895, p. 965 ; abs. in Bot. 

 Centbl. Beihefte, 6 (1896), No. 2-3, pp. 136, 136). 



