44 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 159, 



try to explain the earth without reference 

 to its past history. 



Think of a young morphologist, with all 

 the advantages of the Ifaples Station at 

 hand — yes, within the walls of that grand 

 station — loudly sneering at Darwinism, and 

 spending his wit in derisive caricatures of 

 general truths beyond the horizon of his 

 special work and thought. And shall we 

 forget the physiologist whose philosopher's 

 stone is the search for his ancestry among 

 the Arachnids ? Or the anatomist who re- 

 verses his telescope to discover that his 

 science begins and ends in terminology ? 

 And could we, much as we might yearn for 

 such a benediction, forget the omnipresent 

 and omniscient systematist whose creed is 

 summed up in priority ? 



The catholicon for crankiness has not yet 

 been found, but in science there is but one 

 cure where cure is possible ; it is exposure 

 to the full and direct rays of the system as a 

 whole. The application to the subject in 

 hand is patent. The one great charm of a 

 biological station must be the fullness with 

 which it represents the biological system. 

 Its power and eflcacy diminish in geomet- 

 rical ratio with every source of light ex- 

 cluded. 



My plea, then, is for a biological station, 

 and I believe that experimental biology 

 would be the most important element in 

 such a station. It is now possible to procure 

 a favorable site, with land and fresh-water 

 privileges, in close proximity with the 

 Marine Biological Laboratory ; and with a 

 moderate foundation to start with, the work 

 could begin at any moment. 



The project is certainly one of preemi- 

 nent importance, and for a successful un- 

 dertaking of that magnitude we need the 

 cooperation of American naturalists. I 

 bring the suggestion before you in the hope 

 that it will enlist your interest and sup- 

 port. 



C. O. Whitman. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURAL 



CHEMISTRY. 



II. 



The methods of the chemteal changes 

 produced in the growth of plants have re- 

 cently received an admirable study at the 

 hands of Green. (Journal of the Eoyal 

 Agricultural Society of England, Vol. 6, 

 third series, part 4, pp. 635 et seq.) The 

 chief object of Green's study is the reserve 

 food materials of plants, but in conducting 

 these investigations he studies carefully the 

 chemical action on which the plant metab- 

 olism is based. The apparatus of the 

 plant, which is active in vegetable metab- 

 olism, was studied microscopically and 

 fully illustrated by drawings. 



The source of chemical activity in plants 

 is confined to certain small bodies which are 

 imbedded in the layer of protoplasm or liv- 

 ing substance which lines the cells of the 

 plants. These small bodies are called chlo- 

 roplastids or chlorophyll corpuscles, and it 

 is to them that we must look for the actual 

 constructive activity. These are comprised 

 essentially of small masses of protoplasm 

 which have a loose or spongy arrangement 

 of particles forming a complicated mesh 

 work. In the meshes of this spongy mass 

 the green color known as chlorophyll is 

 found. It exists principally in solution. 

 The work which is done by the chloroplas- 

 tid is very complex, but it is possible to dis- 

 tinguish to a considerable extent between 

 the part played by the green coloring mat- 

 ter itself and that which is discharged by 

 its protoplasmic framework. On account 

 of the character of this material the air has 

 ready access to the interior tissues of the 

 leaf. It enters at the stomata and fills the 

 intercellular spaces. This air contains the 

 small quantity of carbon dioxid which is 

 the fundamental material of plant metab- 

 olism. The water which is taken in by 

 the rootlets of the plant contains various 

 mineral and nitrogenous matters in solu- 



