August 26, 1909] 



NA TURE 



^65 



the more important articles in a European language has 

 been discontinued ; this considerably lessens the usefulness 

 of the journals, so far as western readers are concerned. 



In the July number of the Uuseums Journal, Dr. E. 

 Hovvarth records his resignation of the editorship, a posi- 

 tion he has filled for the last eight years. When that 

 periodical was started in igoi, early failure was predicted; 

 but the prediction has proved altogether untrue, and the 

 Museums Journal is now established on a firm, and, it is 

 ■hoped, lasting' base. The issue also contains Mr. Henry 

 Balfour's presidential address, delivered at the Maidstone 

 meeting on July 13th, in which the need for a national 

 museum of British ethnology is strongly advocated. "What 

 is required is a National Folk-Museum, dealing exclusively 

 and exhaustively with the history of culture of the British 

 nation within the historic period, and illustrating the growth 

 of ideas and indigenous characteristics. Until such an 

 institution is founded, there will remain a very serious 

 lacuna in the list of our museums, and we shall remain open 

 to the fire of just criticism from other countries, on the 

 score of o^ir almost pathetic anxiety to investigate and 

 illustrate the ethnology of other races and peoples, while 

 we neglect our own." 



Zoological students are much indebted to Prof. Spengel 

 for the publication of that very useful and interesting 

 journal, the Ergebnisse und Fortschritte der Zoologie, the 

 second part of the second volume of which has just reached 

 us. This part contains two important memoirs of general 

 interest. The first is a very complete and valuable risumi 

 of our present knowledge of sponge spicules, by Prof. E. A. 

 Minchin. The spicules of sponges are amongst the most 

 beautiful and at the same time the most incomprehensible 

 objects with which the microscopist has to deal, and a 

 considerable amount of light has lately been thrown upon 

 their nature and origin. Prof. Minchin himself is one of 

 the foremost investigators in this department, which modern 

 methods of research have raised to the level of a branch of 

 cytology. The subject, indeed, is one which of recent years 

 has attracted much attention, and given rise to no little 

 controversy amongst spongologists, and specialists and non- 

 specialists alike will be interested in Prof. Minchin's 

 essay. The second paper in the same journal deals with 

 the excretory organs of invertebrates, our knowledge 

 of which has also progressed by leaps and bounds during 

 the last few years. The author, Prof. Meisenheimer, con- 

 fines himself for the present to protonephridia and typical 

 segmental organs, drawing largely for his information upon 

 the classical and pioneer work of Mr. Goodrich, especially 

 with regard to solenocytes. 



The July number of the Transactions of the Royal Scot- 

 tish Arboricultural Society contains a large quantity of 

 information useful to forest owners as well as to foresters. 

 Articles from many able pens deal with afforestation, and 

 we need only mention the names of Lord Lovat, Mr. Munro 

 Ferguson, Dr. Nisbet, Profs. Somerville and Schlich. The 

 report of the Royal Commission on Afforestation from a 

 landowner's point of view, by Sir John Stirling Maxwell, 

 contains many useful hints. A report is given of a lecture 

 on trees of California, by Mr. F. R. S. Balfour, delivered 

 to the society, as well as a report of an excursion to 

 Forglen and Hatton, made by the Aberdeen Branch of the 

 society. The volume also contains interesting notes and 

 queries, reviews and notices of books, and altogether it is 

 full of information likely to be of interest to foresters. 

 The price of the volume is 3s. 



The first portion of an account dealing with mitosis 

 in higher plants, communicated by Dr. H. A. Haig, is 

 NO. 2078, VOL. 81] 



published in the August number of Knowledge and Scien- 

 tific News. A full description is given of methods and 

 materials examined, so that readers, if disposed, may 

 make their own preparations. The first chapters deal with 

 technique and the early stages of division in the cells found 

 near the root-apices of Hyacinthus and Allium. 



The botanists in the Philippine Islands are vigorously 

 prosecuting their identifications of indigenous plants, in 

 pursuance of which Dr. C. B. Robinson publishes in the 

 first part a revision of Philippine Phyllanthinece and Mr. 

 E. D. Merrill contributes revisions of the families Con- 

 naraceae and Loranthaceee to the second part of the 

 botanical section of the Philippine Journal of Science 

 (vol. iv.). Dr. Robinson accepts the separation from 

 Phyllanthus of Glochidion, which becomes a large genus by 

 reason of several species established by Mr. Elmer and the 

 author. Six genera are recognised by Mr. Merrill for the 

 LoranthacejE, including the segregation of Phrygilanthus 

 and a new genus, Cleistoloranthus. The number of endemic 

 species is inordinately great, as out of forty-three species 

 of Loranthus— the only large genus— no fewer than thirty- 

 six are endemic. 



Dr. M. Raciborski contributes to the Bulletin inter- 

 national de VAcademic dcs Sciences de Cracovie (March) a 

 long series of descriptions of parasitic and epiphytic fungi 

 collected and examined in Java. A peculiar formation of 

 the basidium was observed in Cintractia, as it is abstricted 

 directly from the resting spore, and is at once shed ; three 

 or more septa are formed in the basidium, and each cell 

 gives rise to a basidiospore. The group of Septobasidie^ 

 furnishes some of the commonest epiphytes. The Javanese 

 species are separated by the author into three genera ; 

 Ordonia is characterised by a fibrous mycelium and absence 

 of a special hymenial layer ; Mohortia has a sterile layer 

 below the hymenium, while Septobasidium develops three 

 distinct layers. Several of the new species fall into the 

 families Microthyriaceas and Spha?riace£e. 



There are several noteworthy points in the revision of 

 the American group of Thibaudiea;, a section of the family 

 Ericaceae communicated by Mr. R. Hbrold to Engler's 

 Botanische Jahrbiicher (vol. xlii., part iv.). It provides an 

 independent account of a section which was required to 

 correlate the diverse views of Hooker and Klotzch. In this 

 respect the author follows the latter in splitting the large 

 genus Thibaudia. The classification of the genera based 

 on staminal characters furnishes an interesting study in 

 the variation of this organ, which is a special characteristic 

 of the family ; modifications of apical dehiscence are indi- 

 cated in a text-figure. A list of new plants includes one 

 genus and many additions to the genera Cavendishia, 

 Psammisia, and Thibaudia. In addition, the author 

 sketches the main features in the geographical distribution 

 of the genera. 



We are in receipt of several important bulletins from 

 the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station dealing 

 with subjects of considerable agricultural interest. Messrs. 

 Whitson and Stoddart discuss the importance of phos- 

 phates in fertility, and show that the tendency of the 

 local system of farming has been to deplete the stock of 

 phosphates in the soil. Some of the soils are acid, and 

 it is pointed out that acidity and lack of available phos- 

 phates usually go hand in hand. In such cases naturally 

 occurring calcium phosphate gives excellent crop returns, 

 and does not require the preliminary treatment with 

 sulphuric acid usually given ; fortunately, large deposits 

 of rock phosphate occur in Florida, and can be purchased 



