64 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



time and trouble, and specimens which might be ruined by mould are 

 dried in safety. 



Algae at the Caen Herbarium.* — J. Chalon gives some important 

 information regarding the herbaria preserved at the Faculte des Sciences 

 at Caen, where he has been working recently. Each collection is kept 

 separate, and a catalogue is being prepared which will enable a student to 

 find at once any species he may desire to see in any of the separate herbaria. 

 The collections of marine algae by Lenormand, Brebisson, Lamouroux, 

 Chauvin, and Vieillard are to be found at Caen, and all facilities for 

 study are given by the courteous keeper of the institution, Professor 

 Lignier. 



Cyanophycese.'j" — F. Brand publishes remarks on some doubtful points 

 connected with Cyanophyceae. The first of these treats of the so-called 

 gas vacuoles, and the author gives an historical account of the work and 

 views of other writers. He confirms his own former conclusions, 

 namely, that even the Cyanophyceae which form the " water bloom " do 

 not contain red bodies at all times ; and that in Anabcmia flos-aquce the 

 formation of these bodies is preceded by an extraordinary condition of 

 the cell contents. The second note deals with various apical cells 

 among Cyanophyceae, and adds to our knowledge on the subject. The 

 third gives information as to the quick staining of Cyanophyceas, which 

 has been treated of by the author in a previous paper. 



Fresh-water Algae from the Orkneys and Shetlands.J — W. and 

 G. S. West visited these islands in August 1903 for the purpose of 

 studying the fresh-water algae. They record 447 species, of which 5 are 

 new, as well as some varieties. Comparisons are drawn between the 

 fresh-water algae of these islands and those of the Faeroes and Iceland, 

 as enumerated by Borgesen. Out of 174 Desmids recorded from the 

 Faeroes, 118 occur in the Orkneys and Shetlands ; and out of 58 species 

 of Desmids known from Iceland 50 have now been found in the Orkneys 

 and Shetlands. The fresh-water plankton was not very rich, and this is 

 attributed by the authors to the wetness of the season and the shallow- 

 ness of the lochs examined. A table of comparison shows the occurrence 

 of the species of phytoplankton in the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faeroes. 

 In the general systematic account of the collections the authors record 

 the localities where each species was found, and occasionally add notes. 

 Two plates show the new or rare forms. 



Diatoms.§ — H. H. Gran publishes a work on the plankton of the 

 northern seas, which includes all species hitherto recorded north of 

 50° N. Lat., as well as a few tropical forms, which may possibly be 

 found in those seas. A short description is given of the structure, 

 reproduction, occurrence and distribution of diatoms in general, and 

 instructions are given as to their preparation and examination. The 

 author regards the pelagic forms as being the typical representatives of 

 marine plankton. As regards the fresh-water and littoral forms, so far 



* Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique, xlii. (1904-5) pp. 96, 97. 



t Hedwigia, xlv. (1905) pp. 1-15. 



% Trans, and Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh, xxiii. (1905) pp. 3-41 (2 pis.) 



§ Nordisches Plankton. Kiel : Brandt, theil xix. (1905) 146 pp. 178 figs. 



