I909 ] CURRENT LITERATURE 251 



Germs in the air. — Saito has determined 



Sedgwick 



Ann. Ren. Mass 



as counted by colonies, and the kinds found in the University garden and the street 

 air of Tokyo. 17 Several of these tests were made in each month of the year, with 



observations 



He found a high street 

 average in July and August during a period of dust and dryness following a wet 

 season. The garden average increased in November and December in proportion 

 to a large number of windy days. Snow or rainfall always cleansed the air of 

 germs. Of the 55 Bacteriaceae and i7*Coccaceae found, Saito described 18 



forms 



known 



ifuh 



•in 



B. rubiginosus described by Cataino in Cohn's Beitrage 7: 538. 1896; and Sarcina 

 agilis appears to differ from M. agilis as described by Migula in 1897 only in the 

 easily lost character of pigment formation. Motile sarcinas, however, are rare 

 and should be carefully studied. — Mary Hefferan. 



Anatomy of Saxegothaea.— This monotypic conifer, restricted to the wet 

 woods of the upper slopes of the Andes of Chili, has long been in demand for 

 morphological investigation. When Lindley described it in 1851, he called 



.Allied 



exhibits 



tens, it shows even more resemblance to the Araucarineae than do the other podo- 

 carps, especially in its wingless pollen grains and distinct cone of spirally arranged 

 sporophylls. Stiles 18 has examined the anatomical structure of two specimens 

 «■ cultivation in England, and concludes that the genus is relatively primitive. 

 The structure of the wood of the stem and of the medullary rays is simple; and 

 this, taken together with the simple arrangement of the sporophylls, has convinced 

 the author that Saxegothaea is at least the oldest of the podocarps, and shows 

 *nvation from a common ancestral stock with the araucarians.— J. M. C. 



Potato breeding.-EAST'* considers the extensive record of the history of 

 the potato, and future methods of its improvement. Many interesting biological 



facts 



well 



as practical suggestions for the improvement of varieties 



success 



common potato with S. Commersonii 



— jt^v* mat trusses 01 me common poiaiu whax ^> 



d ** varieties which are more resistant to disease. Methods of improvement 



atmo 



Jour. Coll. 



Tokyo, 23: no. 15. pp.77, figs. 19. charts 2. 1908. 



"Stiles, W., The anatomy of Saxegothaea conspicua Lindl. New Phytol. 7- 

 ~ 222 - Jigs. 28-34. IQo8 . 

 ;* E ast, E. M., A study of the factors influencing the improvement of the potato. 



