4IO NATURAL SCIENCE. june. 



A RECENT number of the Farmers' Bulletin (no. lo), issued by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, describes the Russian 

 Thistle, Salsola kali, the Prickly Glasswort of our sandy sea-shores, 

 as one of the worst weeds ever introduced into American wheat fields. 

 One year's damage in Dakota alone is estimated at 2,000,000 dollars. 

 The bulletin reports that it takes complete possession of the soil, 

 while its spiny nature makes it objectionable to horses and other 

 animals. 



In Le Natiiraliste of March 15 Henri Coupin argues that zygo- 

 morphy of the flower, that is, symmetry in relation to a single plane, 

 is primarily for the purpose of protecting the pollen from rain, while 

 adaptation for pollination by insects is only a secondary con- 

 sideration. 



The " Dictionnaire Pratique d'Horticulture " is an improved 

 translation of Nicholson's well-known Dictionary of Horticulture. 

 It is edited by M. S. Mottet and is, says the Gardeners' Chronicle of 

 May 6, " indispensable to all who read French, as it is more complete 

 than the original edition, and contains several additional features." 

 It is issued in parts by Octave Doin of Paris. 



The Journal of Botany has been showing a tendency towards 

 Cryptogamic Botany during recent years. In the April number, 

 there is a paper on Fresh-water Algae, one on Marine Algae, one on a 

 Moss, one on Hepaticae, and a long obituary notice of a Crypto- 

 gamic Botanist. The editor probably means no more by this than 

 that Cryptogamists (even though one fewer) are getting too many 

 for him. 



Mr. Herbert Spencer has issued a reprint of his articles on 

 " The Inadequacy of Natural Selection," followed by that on " Pro- 

 fessor Weismann's Theories," appearing in the Contemporary Review 

 for February, March, and May, 1893. The pamphlet is published by 

 Messrs. Williams and Norgate. 



Professor Logan Lobley has in the press " The Parishes of 

 Surrey : their Surface Features, Geological Structure, and Natural 

 Resources." The book will deal with the 148 parishes in the county, 

 which will be taken in alphabetical order. It is proposed to treat 

 the subject in as practical a way as possible, and to render the volume 

 a thoroughly useful compilation. 



