FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



717 



pendent on what takes place near the 

 shore. In other words, it is difficult to 

 destroy marine life, so far as fish are con- 

 cerned, by mischief done near the coast. 

 Their area of propagation and reproduc- 

 tion is too large for land creatures like 

 us, who can only invade the sea in boats, 

 seriously to injure it." Yet the experi- 

 ments and experience of the United 

 States Fish Commission show that we are 

 able to increase the supply immensely. 



Relative Power of Fungicides. — 

 Mr. F. L. Stevens has published, in the 

 Botanical Gazette, an account of experi- 

 ments made for the purpose of establish- 

 ing with some degree of accuracy the 

 strengths of various solutions which are 

 necessary to prevent the growth of fun- 

 gous spores. The bearing of tliis question 

 upon the relation of a fungicide to its 

 efficiency is apparent. As among the 

 general results the author finds that mer- 

 curic chloride is the strongest chemical 

 used in its toxic effect upon the fungi, 

 while potassium cyanide is remarkably 

 weak considering its great toxic action 

 on animals. Alcohol and sodium chlo- 

 ride have a stimulating efTeet. Various 

 fungi offer different resistance to poi- 

 sons, and the limits of resistance will 

 vary in the same species. The spores of 

 fungi are less susceptible than the roots 

 of seedlings. A chemical may be twice 

 as powerful as another against one fun- 

 gus, while in acting upon another fungus 

 an entirely different ratio may be sus- 

 tained. An occasional spore may ger- 

 minate and grow quite normally in a so- 

 lution that prevents hundreds of normal 

 spores around it from germinating. Peni- 

 cillium as a nutrient medium offered 

 greater resistance to poisons than did 

 any of the other fungi worked upon. 

 Uromyces did not diminish in vigor of 

 growth with the increased strength of 

 the poison, but the percentage of spores 

 that germinated was diminished. In 

 general, the results of the action of the 

 chemicals were in accord with the theory 

 of hydrolytic association. Incidentally 

 new evidence bearing upon the theory of 

 the hydrolytic dissociation of the mole- 

 cule was adduced, together with facts 

 that may throw some light upon the 

 structure of the cell wall. 



National Forest Reserves. — The 

 report of the Secretary of the Interior for 



the year ending June 30, 1898, mentions 

 thirty forest reservations (exclusive of 

 the Afognac Forest and Fish-Culture Re- 

 serve in Alaska) as existing by presiden- 

 tial proclamation under the act of March 

 3, 1891, embracing an estimated area of 

 40,719,474 acres. The patrolling of the 

 reserves has shown that fire is the para- 

 mount danger to which they are exposed. 

 Next to fire, sheep-raising is the most 

 serious difficulty to be considered in ad- 

 ministering the reserves. Yet, as it is 

 not considered expedient to prohibit so 

 important an industry throughout the 

 reserves, special efforts have been di- 

 rected toward ascertaining the particu- 

 lar regions in which the conditions de- 

 mand the exclusion of sheep, and toward 

 learning what restrictions may be neces- 

 sary in other regions. The institution of 

 a national system of timber cutting to 

 be economical in all directions is under 

 consideration, but it is acknowledged 

 that the work will require a certain de- 

 gree of experience and training on the 

 part of forest officers. A forest system 

 inaugurated by the department in Au- 

 gust, 1S98, in which the reserves are 

 placed under the control of a graded 

 force of officers, has already shown good 

 results; the reports received from the 

 forest officers indicate that the patrolling 

 has limited both the number and extent 

 of fires. During the eighteen months 

 previous to the preparation of the report 

 in November, 1898, a great advance was 

 made toward a comprehensive adminis- 

 tration of the public forests. A marked 

 change in public sentiment toward forest 

 policy is noticed, with a subsidence of the 

 opposition to the reserves and a tendency 

 among the people in the localities direct- 

 ly interested to take a deep and approv- 

 ing interest in the matter. 



Sloyd as an Educational Factor. 

 — ]\Ir. Gustaf Larsson, of the Sloyd 

 Training School, Boston, represents, in 

 his Bulletin, that Sloyd is steadily gain- 

 ing ground, and has been introduced, 

 during the past year, into city schools, 

 colleges, and charitable institutions, and 

 that many clubs and social organizations 

 are becoming interested in it as an edu- 

 cational factor. The Sloyd principles 

 seem to meet a cordial welcome wherever 

 they are adequately presented. Mr. Lars- 

 son insists that in Sloyd instruction the 

 teacher should enter into the child's 



