Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



199 



ing of thickened parenchyma cells. 

 The bulk of the paper is devoted to the 

 endosperm. The outer row of aleurone 

 cells or Kleberschicht of German writ- 

 ers, is sharply limited, followed by a 

 copiously developed mucilaginous re- 

 serve cellulose. The endosperm con- 

 sists largely of a true mucilage, which 

 colors yellow with iodine and sulphuric 

 acid and produces a small amount of 

 mucic acid when nitric acid is added. 

 The mucilage is converted into three 

 sugars, dextrose, levulose, and galactose. 

 The endosperm contains 27.5 per cent, 

 albuminoids, cotyledons 52.95. 



L. H. Pammel. 



Coupin. Sur la structure du micropyle des graines 

 des legumineuses, Revue generale de Bot., 9 : 

 175-lSO, pi. 10, 1897. 

 Coupin has made a short contribution 

 on a structure of the micropyle of Vicia 

 Faba, Cytisus Laburnum, Lupinus sp. 

 and Arachis. Coupin describes four 

 types. In Vicia Faba the micropylar 

 opening is cup shaped and the canal 

 more or less obliterated below; in Cyti- 

 sus a canal persists the entire length; 

 in Lupinus the cavity is closed above 

 and below, in Arachis, indistinct. In 

 the adult and mature grains some prom- 

 inent differences occur. The epidermis 

 disappears entirely except in Abrus, 

 where traces of it remain. The micro- 

 pyle connects directly with the paren- 

 chyma of the testa and its intercellular 

 spaces. This explains why the water 

 enters more easily through the micro- 

 pyle than the remainder cf the integu- 

 ment. L. H. Pammel. 



RECENT LITERATURE. 



Jolinsoii, Duncan S. On the leaf and sporocarp 



of Pilularia. Bot. Gaz. 36 : 1-21, 1898. 

 MacMillan, Conwav. Orientation of the plant 



egg. Bot. Gaz. 3o : 301-323, 1898. 

 Oltmanns, F. Die Entwickelung der Sexual" 



organe bei Coleochsete pulvinata. Flora, 85 ■ 



1-14, 1898. 

 Pfeiffer, Ferdinand R., V. Welllieiin. Beitrage 



zur Fixirung und Praparation der Susswasser- 



algen. Oesterrelchische Bot. Zeitsch. 48 : Heft 



2 and 3, 1893. A full resume is given in Bot. 



Centralbl. 73 : 353-355, 1898. 

 Kieder, H. Wirkungen der Rontgenstrahlen auf 



Bakterien. Miienchener med. Woehenschrift- 



No. 4, 1898. 

 Stevens, Wm. C. The behavior of Kinoplasm and 



Nucleolus in the division of the pollen mother 



cells of Asclepias cornuti. Kansas Univ. Quar. 



7 : 77-85, 1898. 

 Stoneman, Bertha. A comparative study of the 



development of some Anthracnoses. Bot. Gaz. 



36:69-120, 11 pi., 1898. 

 VVisselingli, C. van. Microchemische Untersuch- 



ungen ueber die Zellvvande der Fungi. Jahrb. 



f. wiss. Bot. 31 : 019-687, 1898. 



Inquiries regarding any process or 

 other practical subject may be sent for 

 insertion in the News and Notes depart- 

 ment. 



Animal Biology — Current Litera- 

 ture. 



Agnes M. Claypole. 



Separates of papers and books on animal biology 

 should be sent for review to Agnes M. Glaypole, 

 Sage College, Ithaca, N. Y. 



In the following reviews an attempt 

 has been made to take articles that have 

 either a general interest to the student 

 or teacher of animal histology, or else 

 a special bearing on some of the most 

 prominent of the many problems of cyto- 

 logy. In connection with both aims, 

 points of technique of special interest 

 are included. No attempt has been made 

 to make an exhaustive summary of the 

 many publications appearing during the 

 month. It is hoped, however, to cover 

 the ground sufficiently to make the de- 

 partment of interest to the investigator, 

 teacher and student. 



"Archiv fur Mikroskopische Anatomie," 

 September, 1898. In the last number of 

 this publication there are several arti- 

 cles of considerable interest. The first 

 one is a study of the Chromatophores of 

 Cephalophodes by Bernh. Solger. The 

 method employed was to inject into a liv- 

 ing animal a filtered solution of one-half 

 per cent, solution of methylin blue in a 

 six per cent, solution of salt; the injec- 

 tion being made either at the base of an 

 arm or in the mantle. After this the 

 animal was left in fresh sea water for 

 two to four hours. In this time the skin 

 was found well impregnated with the 

 stain. Two questions are discussed: 

 whether certain radial structures found 

 connected with the chromatophores are 

 really muscles, and whether certain 

 structures staining deeply in methylin 

 blue ai'e nerves. The author answers 

 both these questions in the affirmative 

 and adds some interesting observations 

 on the development of chromatophores. 



B. Rawitz has the second part of an 

 article on Cell Division: a series of 

 studies on the spermatogenesis of Scyl- 

 lium canicula. Careful observations 

 were made on all the stages during 

 development, and it was found that the 

 centrosome was not a constant feature 

 throughout development, but ap- 

 peared definitely in the spermatid and 

 was transformed into the middle piece 

 of the spermatozoan. After the last 

 division this structure becomes more and 

 more prominent, and finally elongates to 

 the characteristic middle piece. 



Dr. S. Schwartz has made a study of 

 the ganglion cells of the mammalian 

 heart. He used the rat's heart, and 

 made frontal, transverse, and sagittal 

 sections of the whole organ. The stain 

 chosen was Thionin, being used to bring 

 out ganglion cells only. As a result of 



this study ganglion cells were found 



