Dec. 23, 1875] 



NATURE 



157 



spiny leaves apparently have no such secreting organs. In 

 respect to the secretion itself, it is in the bud either a fluid muci- 

 lage or resin, while in the full-grown leaf it is only a watery 

 or somewhat mucilaginous fluid. The paper is illustrated by 

 two plates, on which are figured the glands of Prunus avium, 

 Kerria japonica, Vicia /aba, Bdula alba, Corylus azellana, 

 Evonymtts japonicus, Ribes multiflorum, Epilobium D0donei, 

 Caiaipa syringitfolia, Clerodmdton fragrans, and Viola odorata. 

 — The second paper, on the process of fertilisation in the Basidio- 

 mycetes, is by Dr. Max Reess. Every day renders it more and 

 more probable that the receptacles, or fruit-bearers, of the 

 Basidiomycetes are, like the sporocarps of the Ascomycetes, the 

 result of the fertilisation of a carpogoniuin. The researches of 

 Reess now under consideration, those of Van Tieghem, and lastly, 

 those of Dr. Eduard Eidam, in the Botanische Zeitung, 1875, 

 p. 649, all tend in the one direction, and lead us to look with 

 very great caution on the results obtained recently by Mr, 

 Worthirgton Smith, and published in the Gardener's Chronicle 

 for October. Reess has examined the early stages of Coprinus 

 sttrcoratius, Bulliard, which develops rapidly, and could be 

 easily obtained. The ripe spores of Coprinus stercorarius are 

 ellipsoidal in shape, pointed towards each pole, and average 

 eleven mic. mill long by six mic. mill, broad, having a brown 

 episporum. Germination begins by the protrusion of the endo- 

 sporium in the form of a colourless papilla at one, rarely at 

 both, the poles of the cell. The process is a rapid one, and at 

 the ordinary temperature of a room occurs in from four to five 

 hours after sowing. The mycelia rapidly develops and branches 

 frequently, so that in three or four days the mycelia from a 

 single spore ^vill form a patch from 1 4 to 2 mill, in circumference. 

 At first the mycelium is formed of a single much-branched cell 

 filled with colourless hoitogeneous protoplasm, numerous vacuoles 

 forming in the older parts as branching proceeds. At the end 

 of the second day numerous trar.ss-eise walls appear in the my- 

 celium, and a little later the hyphae are seen to anastomose. In 

 from three to four days after the germination of the spores, special 

 bearers of minute rod-like cells appear. They are more or less 

 l«ng cylindrical cells with protoplasm, and they bear at their 

 ends, or sometimes at the side, the short, straight rod-like cells. 

 These grow until they have attained a certain length, then they 

 divide, and the upper one drops off", a process which may be 

 repeated two or three times, so that at about the end of two 

 days, when the entire protoplasm of the bearers has disappeared, 

 the process stops, and then the bearers themselves may fall 

 off. When this occurs a little pile of about fifty to sixty rod- 

 like cells may be noticed. These rod-like cells might be con- 

 fotmded with conidia, but further observation has shown that they 

 cannot germinate, and there is now no doubt whatever that they 

 are sperniatia, and therefore male cells. The youngest stage of 

 the fruit-bearer is a thick, more or less irregularly-shaped hypha 

 thread, densely filled with protoplasm, and resembling the earliest 

 stage of the carpogonium of Asrobolus. The next stage is the 

 fertilisation by means of the spermatia which attach themselves 

 to the branching sacklike structure, and as the spermatia at once 

 lose their contents, the empty wall contrasts strorgly with the 

 protoplasm of the carpogonium. After fertilisation the car- 

 pogonium becomes more and more tortuous and branched. 

 The spermatia of Coprinus are therefore male cells ; their 

 bearer the antheridium, while their function is the fertili- 

 sation of the carpogonium. As a consequence of fertilisa- 

 tion the carpogonium develops into the fruit-bearer of the 

 fungus. The process described by Reess will thus be seen to 

 have a very close resemblance to the fertilisation of the Floridese, 

 such as Tsemalionand Batrachospermum. — The third paper is on 

 the " Germination of the spores of Cyathus striatus, SViJld., one 

 of the Gasteromycetes," by Dr. R. Hesse, with one plate. The 

 sporesgerminateby theprotrusionof the endosporium at one, rarely 

 at both, poles, a single hypha thread three or lour t'mes the length 

 of the spore being formed. Transverse walls then appear, and the 

 free end of the thread separates into a number of small cells, 

 but the further history of these minute cells has not been studied. 

 — The fourth and last paper in this number is " On the develop- 

 ment of certain flowers with especial reference to the theory of 

 Interposition," by Dr. A. B. Frank, with three plates. The 

 author gives the results of his researches on plants belonging to 

 the natural orders Papilionacese, Geraniaceae and Oxalidaceae, 

 Malvaceae, and Primulacese. Many important observations are 

 made in reference to the order of succession of the parts of the 

 flowers, the development of diplosterconous flowers, and of 

 flowers with superposed stamens. The paper is however not 

 Hie that can be usefully abstracted. Altogether this number of 



Pringsheim's Jahrbuch maintains its well-known high standard of 

 excellence, and is well illustrated. 



The first part of the twenty- fifth volume of Von Siebold and 

 KoUiker's Zeitschri/t fiir Wissenshaftliche Zoologie (Nov. 1874) 

 contains an article of 100 pages by E. Ehlers, of Erlangen, on 

 the vertical distribution of the marine chaetophorous annelids, 

 based on the specimens secured in the Porcupine Expedition. 

 In the same article is included M. Claparede's report on the 

 chaetophorous annelids brought home by the Lightning. The 

 forms are carefully desaibed, new species are added, and the 

 results are excellently tabulated. It is concluded that all the 

 families of polychsetous annelids which are known as littoral 

 inhabitants on the Atlantic coasts of Europe, excepting the 

 Telethusae and Hermellidie, are represented in the deep-sea 

 fauna ; that beyond the littoral region a greater or less depth 

 does not influence the character of the annelid fauna ; that tem- 

 perature influences it just in the same manner as temperature 

 influences the littoral annelids. Four very excellent plates, 

 chiefly of annelid appendages, are given. — Karl Mbbius gives a 

 detailed account of tie anatomy of the Rotifer Brachionus piica- 

 tills. — Dr. F. C. Noll desctibes Kcchlorine hamata, a new genus 

 and species of boring Cirripede, boring into Haliotis and other 

 shells, differing from Cryptophialus and Alcippe in lying free in 

 the artificial cavity in the shell, and in other important particulars. 

 — The second part (March 1875) opens with a contribution by 

 W. Repiachoff to the embryology of Tendra zoster icola. — Prof. 

 Ranke describes minutely the supposed organs of hearing in 

 Acridium coerulisctns and the eyes of the leech. — Dr. Glaus 

 describes the shell-glands of Daphnia, identifying them with the 

 segmental oi^ans of annelids, and with the kidneys of vertebrates. 

 — Dr. H. Dewitz writes on the structure and development of the 

 sting and the ovipositor in several common Hymenoptera and the 

 Grasshopper, which he calls Locusta viridissivia, instead of using 

 the genetic name Gryllus. — O. Biitschli contributes some "pre- 

 liminary observations" on the first steps of development in 

 Nematodes and Snails. — Dr. von Willemoes-Suhm's third letter 

 from the Challenger concludes the number. — The third part 

 (May 1875) contains as its piece de resistance a very valuable 

 memoir, by Dr. C. Glaus, on the development, organisation, 

 and systematic position of the Ai^ulidae. Argulus foiiaceus 

 is the species chiefly described, both in its development and 

 adult stale. Dr. Glaus concludes that it is useless to describe 

 a distinct species of Argulus for every fish on which it is para- 

 sitic. It is established that Argulus foiiaceus is parasitic on a 

 great variety of fishes, also on toads and tadpoles, and even on 

 the Axolotl. It appears that Argulus reproduces itself not only 

 in early spring but also in summer and autumn with great free- 

 dom. For many reasons Dr. Glaus places the Argulidse among 

 the Copepoda, and constitutes them a sub-order under the name 

 Bianchiura, — Dr. L. Stieda describes the structuie of the central 

 nervous system of Axolotl ; the brain he asserts to be of a 

 more completely embryonic type than any whose structure has 

 been carefully examined. — E. Metschnikoff" describes the early 

 development of Geophilus. He finds that its lar\a differs 

 from those of Ghilognathous Myriopods in having its yelk-mass 

 inside instead of outside the alimentary canal.— Oscar Grimm 

 gives an account of the results of his dredgings in the Caspian 

 Sea last year, resulting in the discovery of eighty new species. 



Zeitschrift der Ocsterreichtscheti Gesellscha/t fiir Altteorologie 

 Nov. I. — Dr. Hann contributes an article on the meteorology of 

 the Punjab, founded on the reports made by Mr. Neil for 1871, 

 and by Mr. Calthrop for 1872. — Prof. Buys Ballot gives a table 

 showing the tension of aqueous vapour at eighteen places in Russia 

 for each month. It appears that at all stations the tension is below 

 the average from November to April, and above it from May to 

 Septembev, and at some places in October. The influence of 

 height, latitude, longitude, and proximity of the sea is plainly 

 indicated by the table. 



Journal de Physique, October. — In this number M. Penand 

 describes some researches on aviation, and apparatus for mecha- 

 nical flight, for which a prize was recently awarded him by the 

 Paris Academy. — Some experiments by M. Moreau are given as 

 showing that a fish with swimming bladder undergoes variations of 

 interior pressure, and that it adapts itself to difl"erent heights 

 not by a mechanical action exercised on the bladder by 

 means of its muscles, but by changing the quartity of air con- 

 tained in the organ. — The penetration of electricity into badly- 

 conducting substances has been sufficiently demonstrated, but 

 there is still a good deal of confusion as to the mode of its 

 action. M. Neyreneuf here endeavours to give precision to ideas 



