i8 9 3- NOTES AND COMMENTS. 5 



view. He used to say that the protoplasm probably of every different 

 kind of cell, and certainly of every different plant and animal, was 

 different. There were a great many protoplasms, for protoplasm was 

 simply the name of a physical appearance always found in living 

 cells, and in actual chemical composition varying from cell to cell, 

 from organism to organism, and from moment to moment ; but 

 underlying all this flux of living material, no doubt, there was one 

 definite chemical compound identical in all living matter. 



Recent Work on the Foraminifera. 



The chief activity in the study of Foraminifera has of late years 

 been removed to Italy, and we are indebted to Fornasini, Tellini, 

 Dervieux, Malagoli, and Mariani for a great number of papers, chiefly 

 on the Tertiary forms, of more or less importance. The last one to 

 hand is by Dervieux, who writes upon the Tertiary Frondicularice of 

 Piedmonc (Bull. Soc. Geol. Hal., vol. xi. (2) ). There are eleven forms 

 figured, most of which are well-known, and some of which are 

 common both to the Chalk and Tertiary deposits elsewhere. Three 

 are named as new, but surely fig. 17 is F. medelingensis of Karrer. 



Schlumberger, of Paris, has contributed to the Memoires of the 

 Zoological Society of France (vol. vi.) another of those elaborate 

 researches into the Miliolidae — Monographic des Miliolidces du Golfe 

 de Marseille. The material was supplied to him by M. Marion, and 

 was obtained from the " zone a Bryozoaires," in the gulf of Marseilles, 

 at a depth of 30-40 metres. 



Schlumberger picked out the Miliolines, numbering about 20, and 

 has described and figured them with his customary exquisite care. 

 No Biloctilinm were found, but there were 3 Spiroloculina, one receiving 

 a new name (in<rquilaleralis) ; 1 Sigmoilina (costata, n. sp.) ; 4 Trilocu- 

 linw (marioni, n. sp.) ; 10 Quinqueloculina: (stelligera, n. sp.) ; 2 Massilina; 

 (a new genus " of which the early chambers are arranged in five 

 symmetrical planes, as in Quinqueloculina, while the last are placed in 

 two planes or a single common plane of symmetry passing through the 

 axis of the poles as in Spiroloculina ") the species being secans (Quinqnelo- 

 culina, d'Orbigny, no. 43 Tableau Methodique) and annectens, n. sp. ; 

 and 3 Adelosina. The illustrations are given in four plates, photo- 

 graphed ixom drawings by the author, and the paper is further 

 illlustrated by thirty-seven of those beautiful sections that M. 

 Schlumberger has delighted us with so often. We regret to see our 

 old friend Q. secans disappear, but we have long since recognised 

 the jeopardy of all Miliolina, which now cannot be safely named 

 without the precaution of making sections and studying the internal 

 arrangement of the test. 



The most interesting event to be chronicled is the return of the 

 prodigal son, M. E. Van den Broeck, who has fed for long off Japanese 

 husks and now returns to his foraminifera. Van den Broeck has 



