February 10, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



^27 



who are responsible for its inception and suc- 

 cessful execution. 



THE STUDY OF IOWA SEDGES. 



In a recent bulletin of the Laboratories of 

 Natural History of the State University of 

 Iowa, Mr. R. I. Cratty contributes a valuable 

 paper upon the sedges of Iowa. 



The list includes the results of about thirty 

 years of work by Iowa botanists, and brings to- 

 gether data relating to ten genera and one hun- 

 dred and fourteen species. With regard to the 

 nature of the sedge flora of Iowa, the author 

 says that it is "characteristically Eastern and 

 corresponds quite closely with that of the bor- 

 dering States, and, though lying just east of the 

 Great Plains, but one species, Carex stenophylla 

 Wahl., has yet been found which does not occur 

 east of the Mississippi River. The richest por- 

 tion of the State in sedges is that bordering on 

 this great waterway. This may be accounted 

 for partly because of the greater diversity of 

 soil, surface, woodland and prairie in that 

 region, and partly because the natural agencies 

 for the distribution of seeds and the greater 

 rainfall combine to favor that portion of the 

 State." 



NORTH AMERICAN SEAWEEDS. 



With the distribution of the eleventh fascicle 

 of Phyiotheca Boreali-Americana by Messrs. Col- 

 lins, Holden and Setchell there comes the an- 

 nouncement of a new series, to consist of larger 

 specimens, including such plants as Nereocystis, 

 Laminaria, Fucus, Agarum, Dictyoneuron, etc. 

 The fascicles of this series will be designated by 

 letters, A, B, C, etc., and the specimens num- 

 bered with Roman numerals, I., II., III., etc., 

 so as to avoid confusion with the other series. 

 Moreover, the fascicles of the new series will 

 contain twenty-five numbers each, instead of 

 fifty, as in the old series. There will thus be 

 two series running side by side, and the an- 

 nouncement is made that either one may be 

 subscribed for separately or both may be taken 

 simultaneously. 



AETHUR AND HOLWAY'S BUSTS. 

 Four years ago Dr. J. C. Arthur and Mr. E. 

 W. D. Holway issued fascicle I of a distribution 

 of specimens and figures of the Rusts under the 



title ' UrediueEe Exsiccatse et Icones.' A few 

 days ago the second fascicle was received, and 

 it is so noteworthy as to call for a word here. 

 It contains fifty-two packets of specimens, each 

 accompanied by enlarged drawings of the 

 spores, and in addition thirteen photomicro- 

 graphs taken directly from prepared slides. 

 When we remember that this fascicle is sent to 

 subscribers for three dollars we may realize 

 that it is entirely a labor of love. Its value to 

 students of the Rusts is incalculable. 



Charles E. Bessey. 

 The University of Nebraska. 



CURRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. 

 oourseb at the ficoLE d'antheopologie. 

 The following courses, public and gratuitous, 

 are given this winter at the School of Anthro- 

 pology, Paris : (1) Prehistoric anthropology : 

 its general principles and methods (Professor 

 Capitan). (2) Zoological anthroi^ology : Origin 

 of man (Professor Mahoudeau). (3) Ethno- 

 graphy and Linguistics : French language and 

 culture in the 12th and 13th centuries (Profes- 

 sor Lefevre). (4) Ethnology : The Basques 

 and Aquitanians (Professor Herv6). (5) Bio- 

 logical Anthropology : The struggle for life 

 (Professor Laborde). (6) Anthropological Geo- 

 graphy : America (Professor Schrader). ' (7) 

 Physiological Anthropology : The sexes (Pro- 

 fessor Manouvrier). (8) Sociology: China (Pro- 

 fessor Letourneau). An extra course on North 

 Africa will be given by Professor Zaborowski. 

 There are two lectures a day on five days of 

 the week. 



THE MEANING OF 'RACE.' 



That much abused word, 'race,' has been 

 the stumbling-block of many writers. Anthro- 

 pologists try to make it a zoological term, con- 

 noting certain identical physical features. How 

 far this is from general acceptance is illustrated 

 in the presidential address of Mr. Alfred Nutt 

 before the Folk-lore Society. He says : " Out- 

 side the record of history, of literature, of art, 

 of systematized thought, the word ' race Ms, for 

 me, void of meaning. When I speak of ' race ' 

 I have in mind a community which for a definite 

 number of centuries has manifested itself in 

 clearly defined products of the mind — has set 



