252 



NA TURE 



[Jan. lo, 1889 



these new works and his own views on the subject. This 

 he has done in the present essay. 



The descriptions referred to by Dr. Agardh appeared 

 in his work entitled, " Florideernes-Morphologi " (pub- 

 lished in the Transactions of the Royal Swedish Academy 

 in 1879) ; but as this work was written in Swedish, it has 

 probably not met with so many readers as it deserves. 

 With a view to make this work more accessible, Dr. 

 Agardh issued, in 1880, a Latin translation of it. 



After stating the views of the essayists, and com- 

 menting on them, he quotes the concluding words of 

 Mr. Bigelow, the most recent of them : " We have to 

 leave our subject for the present in an unsettled and 

 therefore rather unsatisfactory condition." 



Dr. Agardh then quotes from his Swedish work the 

 description of the structure of Lomentaria and Champia, 

 showing that in the young state the interior is never 

 hollow, but is interlaced with delicate coloured filaments, 

 which disappear in the older parts of the plants. He 

 also mentions that some Floridea;, which are apparently 

 hollow, such as Chrysymenia, Dumontia, &c., are in 

 part filled with a gaseous fluid, which probably assists 

 such plants as have thin walls in preserving an erect 

 position. 



Dr. Otto Nordstedt is already well known to British 

 algologists by the specimens of fresh-water Algae which 

 he has issued in conjunction with Prof. Wittrock, of 

 Stockholm. The work he now sends us proves that he 

 is a good draftsman and linguist, as well as algologist. 

 It is on the fresh-water Algae of New Zealand, and is 

 written in very good English, and carefully got up in 

 every respect. The author mentions that the Desmids 

 have received his greatest attention, and that compara- 

 tively little attention has been bestowed on the Phycc- 

 chromaceae ; a few only have been taken from brackish 

 water. 



Dr. Nordstedt mentions that he has not met v/ith any 

 new genus of fresh-water Algae, or with any genus not 

 represented in Europe, with the exception of Phymato- 

 docis, which, he tells us, occurs also in North and South 

 America, and in Australia. 



With regard to the localities in New Zealand where 

 fresh-water Algae are found, no one is better acquainted 

 with them than Dr. Berggren, who had made an inter- 

 esting collection, subsequently examined by Dr. Nordstedt, 

 and included in the present work on these plants. Dr. 

 Berggren's remarks, as recorded by Dr. Nordstedt, Avill 

 be read with interest. He says : — 



"The fresh-water Algae in New Zealand do not, from 

 several causes, occur so frequently as in the regions of 

 the corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere. 

 The ground, which is generally sloping, gives a rapid 

 course to rivers and brooks, and the surface occupied by 

 stagnant water, swamps, and bogs is not very extensive. 

 The comparatively small number of water- and bog-plants 

 growing sociably together (such as Pota7nogeton and 

 others), which in the stagnant waters and marshy spots of 

 Europe are favourable to the existence of the fresh-water 

 Algae, is of great consequence. The usually dry summer 

 generally causes the draining of those lowland spots, 

 which in the wet season (the winter) are swamps. There- 

 fore the Algas are more frequent in the damp and moss- 

 grown localities of the mountainous regions in the 

 Northern as well as in the Southern Island. In the rivulets 

 from hot springs in the hot lake district in the Northern 

 Island, the Algae are especially Phycochromaceae, but 

 likewise Confervaceas and Zygnemaceae, to be found 

 growing in great abundance." 



Dr. Nordstedt mentions that from his examination of 

 Dr. Berggren's collection, it appears that the swampy 

 ground on the Canterbury Alps and the highlands round 

 the Taupo Lake are the best localities, especially for 

 Desmids. 



The description of the New Zealand Algae is supple- 



mented by lists of a few fresh-water Algae from Australia 

 and the Hawaiian Islands. Then follow a list of the 

 principal works consulted, and an index. The work is 

 illustrated by seven plates, the figures of which are aW 

 drawn — and well drawn — by the author. 



Mary P. Merrifield. 



THE JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY} 

 'HP HE year 1887 marked an epoch in the advance 0* 

 -»- natural science in America, as that in which the 

 above-named journal made its appearance. The first 

 number was not published until some months after the 

 advertised time, but, once in circulation, it became clear 

 to all that the delay was warranted by the eminently 

 satisfactory result obtained. The journal was defined in 

 the preliminary advertisement as one "devoted principally 

 to embryological, anatomical, and histological subjects," 

 it being stated that "only original articles, which deal 

 thoroughly with the subject in hand, will be admitted tO' 

 its pages." The three parts before us present in the 

 aggregate 593 pages crown octavo, with thirty plates, and 

 woodcuts interspersed with the text. Seventeen papers 

 have in all appeared, and of these, seven or eight are 

 devoted to embryology, with a total of 361 pages, and 

 four or five to anatomy and histology, with that of 182 

 pages. One is purely experimental, and deals with the 

 mental powers of spiders (37 pages), and another 

 is largely palaeontological (12 pages), while the three 

 which remain (61 pages in all) are largely contro- 

 versial. The illustrations are throughout most excellent, 

 but it is surprising to what an extent the work in this 

 department has been done in Germany, especially as it 

 has resulted in " a great loss of time and inconvenience in 

 supervision." We are assured, however, that " there is 

 no remedy except in the employment of an expert litho- 

 grapher, to work under our immediate direction." We 

 sincerely hope the editors may soon see their way to the 

 employment of such an one, for surely he is to be found in 

 the United States. 



It will be seen from the foregoing that while, in the 

 early issues, all branches of animal biology have been 

 represented, there is a marked preponderance of embryo- 

 logical literature ; and, taking into account the share 

 which the discursive papers contribute towards this, 

 subject, there would appear to be a predisposition in 

 favour of the same. The study of embryology is one 

 which lends itself, by virtue of its constitution, to the 

 production of hypotheses and broad generalizations ; and,, 

 in knowledge of the extent to which previous workers 

 have often availed themselves of this, we are led to^ 

 inquire how far the predisposition in question may be 

 due to this cause. Certain of our American brethren 

 are notorious for their power of accumulating super- 

 fluous detail. Publications could be cited in which the 

 " padding " is inversely proportionate to the actual work 

 done, and we would fain desire that the authors should 

 work more and write less : indeed, the senior editor has 

 acknowledged this. He writes : " Concentration is our 

 need " : and further, "The inaccessibility of our literature 

 —scattered as it is among the publications of so many 

 societies and institutions, and mixed up with a mass of 

 heterogeneous matter that has no value for a zoologist — 

 is notorious." All this being so, it is not surprising that 

 the editors have decided to issue the numbers only " as 

 often as the requisite material is furnished." 



In estimating the usefulness of a private journal such 

 as this, especially when so largely devoted to the interests 

 of a subject lending itself to broad generalization, we 

 cannot refrain from deploring the tendency, elsewhere 

 manifest, towards the introduction of a bias in favour of 



' The Journal of Morphology, edited by C. O. Vk^hitroin, with the co- 

 operation of E. P. AU.s, Jun. (Boston : Ginn and Co.) 



