1897 THE MICROSCOPE. 99 
with the ridges, whilst two occur on the flat surface or 
commissure of each mericarp. The endosperm consists 
of somewhat thick-walled, polygonal cells, which contain 
oil and granular proteid matter.—Phar. Jour. 
Publications of the American Microscopical Society. 
This Society meets annually in August, for two days, 
somewhere in the wake of the A. A. A. S. of which it 
was formerly a section. There are habitually present 
from 15 to 30 people who know how to use a microscope. 
Of course as many more visitors drop in. _ 
Just as the parent organization publishes an annual 
volume, so the offspring at once aspired to do so and has 
done so for nineteen years. That volume takes up not 
only the papers read at the meeting but such others as 
are offered if they are good. Months are neccessarily 
consumed in its issue and it is an exceptionally smart 
Secretary who can do the work in less them 10 or 11 
months, All the papers are thus held back from readers 
for nearly a year after they were written. When they 
come out they come in a lump and nobody reads them. The 
volume being received, a few hours are devoted to a cur- 
sory glance at the pictures, titles and headlines and it 
goeson a shelf for future reference. When one is at 
work on a particular subject he gets out the various vol- 
umes and reads up what he can find, if anything, on that 
subject and here ends the matter. 
In a sort of dog-in-the-manger spirit a rule was passed 
some years ago prohibiting members from giving out their 
papers for prior publication elsewhere. 
As a result, when we have asked them to send us their 
papers or abstracts for publication, they usually decline. 
Hence, two-thirds of our readers who number five times 
those of the society’s membership, and twenty to fifty 
times the attendants at the meetings are deprived of the 
