378 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Nov. 



Of the eases of catarrhal conjunctivitis, one showed a 

 few bacilli of a kind not identified, one was sterile, and 

 one gave a culture of Fraenkel's diplococcus. 



Of the four cases of ulcerative keratitis, tubes from 

 three were sterile. Cultures of the staphylococcus albus 

 developed in the remaining one. — Medical Record. 



Some Aqueous Media for Preserving Algae for Class 



Material. 



W. A. SETCHElvIv, AND W. J. V. OSTERHOUT, 



BERKELEY, CAL., and providence, R. I. 



There are ordinarily two difficulties in the way of in- 

 troducing a careful study of the various marine and fresh 

 water algse into a course in cryptogamic botany. The 

 first of these is the obtaining of the material, and the 

 second is preserving the material which may be obtained 

 in such a fashion that it can be placed before the student 

 in a condition to be readily examined and studied with 

 nearly as satisfactory results as those afl'orded by the 

 fresh material of the same forms. 



The first difficulty can be overcome more or less readily. 

 Fresh water species are more or less abundant in our 

 ponds, brooks and rivers, and the increasing facility of 

 access to the sea brings the marine forms within the reach 

 of many. Especially do the facilities ofl"ered by the 

 marine laboratories, such as those at Cold Spring Har- 

 bor, N. Y., at Woods Holl, Mass., and at Pacific Grove, 

 Cal., afford an opportunity for the teacher of botany 

 not only to become acquainted with the algal forms and 

 their use in the class room, but also to obtain and pre- 

 serve a good supply of desirable species in the very best 

 condition possible. Under the auspices of the Marine 

 Biological Laboratory at Woods Holl, a department of 

 Laboratory Supply has been in successful operation for 

 several years, and from it all necessary botanical mater- 



