1995] CURRENT LITERATURE 233 
which 55 new species are described. The next largest genus is Pothos, with 48 
species, 5 of which are new.—J. M. C. 
Bray® has published a description of the “sotol country” in Texas. The 
sotol is Dasylirion texanum, and gives name to characteristic areas of the arid 
southwest, whose vegetation is largely made up of plants of the cactus, agave, 
and yucca types. The general vegetation features of the country, the floristic 
elements, as well as the economic importance of the vegetation are presented.— 
.M.C. 
Sewarp has published descriptions of certain collections of fossil plants 
from Natal,’ Victoria,’ and Kashmir.? To be able to compare the floras and 
horizons of these regions with those of Europe and North America is looked 
forward to with great expectations, and every scrap of definite information is 
valuable—J. M. C. 
THE FOURTH PART of SCHNEIDER’s IIlustriertes Handbuch*? concludes Spirae- 
aceae, includes Rosaceae, and begins Drupaceae. There are forty-five text figures. 
The general character and scope of the publication are stated in the notice of the 
first parts (Bor. GAZETTE 39:373. 1905).—J. M. C. 
NOTES FOR STUDENTS. 
THE LAST PAPER of GERASSIMow'! brings together concisely the principal 
conclusions of the interesting series of experimental studies on the cells of the 
\jugales which have appeared in recent years. It will be remembered that by 
Subjecting filaments of Spirogyra to a temperature at freezing point, or treating 
them for a short time to the anaesthetic influence of ether, chloroform, or chloral 
hydrate, Gerassrmow was able to arrest the processes of mitosis at different 
Stages, with the result that the protoplasm may become variously distributed in 
the daughter cells. (x) A daughter cell may be formed lacking a nucleus, but 
“ontaining portions of the divided chromatophore in a peripheral layer of cyto- 
me A single cell may contain the two daughter nuclei either separated 
6 
‘ Bray, W. L., Vegetation of the sotol country in Texas. Bull. Univ. Texas no. 
' Pp- 24. pls. rr. 1905. 
os A. C., Report on ‘collections of Natal fossil plants. Second Rep. 
= urv. Natal and Zululand. Pp. 97-104. pls. 4-5. 1904. 
Geol. “cag A. C., On a collection of Jurassic plants from Victoria. Records 
: - Victoria 13:155-210. pls. 8-19. 1904. 
oo. A. C., and Woopwarp, A. SairH, Permo-carboniferous plants and 
8 from Kashmir. Memoirs Geol. Surv. India N. S. no. 2. pp. ¥4- pls. 
IO. 1905. 
190 Scm 
Vierte Lief, ER, CAMILLO Kart, Illustriertes Handbuch der Laubholzkunde. 
i 7 ecg Jena: Gustav Fischer. 1905. M 4. - 
18: 45-118 ai MOW, J. J., Ueber die Grisse des Zellkernes. Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 
- pls, 
3-4. 1904 
