124 The Mecroscope. 



Mr. C. E. Pellew recently presented a paper before the New 

 York Academy of Sciences, on " Recent Investigations on the Miti- 

 gation of Pathogenic Bacteria." The paper was illustrated by the 

 stereopticon and mici-oscope. 



The famous Indian botanist, Babu Havinohun Mukerji, of Ben- 

 gal, is dead. He was at one time head-master of a small agricultural 

 school attached to the botanical gardens of Sibpur, but left it to pur- 

 sue his wanderings in search of Indian plants in the northern and 

 eastern districts. He was the author of several botanical works. — 

 Engl. Mechanic. 



Mm. a. Ceetes and Garrigon recently presented a communica- 

 tion, before the Paris Academy of Sciences, on the constant presence 

 of micro-organisms in the thermal waters of Luchon (64^C) and on 

 their action on the production of baregine. The object of this paper 

 is to determine the presence of living organisms in thermal waters 

 of the highest temperatures, to ascertain their nature and the part 

 played by them in the production of the bargine or glarine com- 

 monly found in sulphurous waters. — Nature. • 



The histology of the skin and the lateral-line organs of the elec- 

 tric catfish is described by Fritsch in a paper before the Berlin 

 Academy of Science, April, 1886. 



Dr. R. W. Bishop, of Chicago, has been investigating that Ameri- 

 can characteristic, premature baldness, and asks, in a paper presented 

 before the medical society of his city, if the condition is contagious ? 

 The doctor thinks that the disease is due to micro-organisms upon 

 the shafts of the hair, and that it is contagious. He has made a 

 series of experiments, assisted by Dr. Oscar Lassar. A typical case 

 was that of a perfectly healthy young man whose head was nearly 

 bald on top. The hair from the diseased surface was brittle and 

 came out easily when pulled. Microscopic examination revealed a 

 large number of fungi on the scalp and the shafts of the hair, the 

 root being free from the parasite. The diseased hairs were cut and 

 mixed with vaseline, which was rubbed on the skin of healthy rab- 

 bits, and in two weeks the hair entirely disappeared from the parts 

 which had been rubbed, Experiments were continued, and it was 

 found that the hairs from the inoculated animals possessed increased 

 virulence. 



During the last ten years between 1,100 and 1,200 new plants 

 from Madagascar have been described in the Journal of the Linnean 

 Society and Journal of Botany. Twenty-nine of these are new 

 genera. — Bot. Gazette. 



