Apeil 23, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



669 



posterior end. These were regenerated after 

 liberation. The encysted Paramecia were 

 killed by drying. From material obtained 

 from a. number of localities Paramecium 

 aurelia was found to be dimorphic as regards 

 size and the smallest specimens smaller than 

 the smallest of Paramecium caudatum, " The 

 Artificial Production and Development of 

 One-eyed Monsters," by Charles E. Stockard. 

 Salts of magnesium in solution are found to 

 cause one-eyed monsters to develop from the 

 eggs of the fish, Fundulus heteroclitus. These 

 Cyclopean individuals were produced in such 

 numbers as to afford material for a full in- 

 vestigation of the processes involved in the 

 formation of the defect. 



BOTANICAL NOTES 

 VEGETATION PICTURES 



Some years ago Professors Karsten and 

 Schenck, the former of the University of 

 Bonn, and the latter of the Technical High 

 School of Darmstadt, began the publication, 

 through Gustav Fischer, of Jena, of a most 

 interesting work under the title of " Vegeta- 

 tionsbilder." From time to time the succes- 

 sive parts have been noticed favorably in these 

 columns, and now the reception of " Hef ten " 

 1 and 2 of the seventh volume calls for 

 another notice. These are devoted to the 

 vegetation of the volcanic regions of Java and 

 Simiatra, and were prepared by Professor A. 

 Ernst, of the University of Zurich, and the 

 seventeen half-tone plates were made from 

 photographs' taken by him also. These plates 

 are admirable examples of what may be done 

 in the way of faithful reproduction, and 

 make one wonder why it is so difficult, or per- 

 haps even impossible, to secure work of this 

 kind in this country at anything less than 

 prohibitive prices. It is difficult to single 

 out from these striking pictures those of great- 

 est interest, but No. 5a showing pioneer vege- 

 tation on the volcano Merapi (2,981 meters), 

 and No. 11a showing a grass steppe in the 

 interior of the volcano Krakatau are especially 

 noticeable. The text, of which there are 

 twenty-four pages, is full and satisfactory. 

 The excellence of the wdrk, together with its 



very moderate price (2.50 Marks per heft) 

 should make it one of the necessary works in 

 every botanical library. 



ANOTHER BOTANICAL JOURNAL 



On the first of January the well-known 

 publisher, Gustav Fischer, of Jena, began the 

 publication of a promising new monthly jour- 

 nal in the botanical field under the name 

 Zeitschrift filr Botanih. In size of page and 

 number of pages for each number it resembles 

 the Botanical Gazette, which in these respects 

 was frankly taken by the projectors as the 

 model for the new journal. The editors are 

 Oltmanns, Solms-Laubach (who now withdrew 

 from the Botanische Zeitung) and Jost, which 

 fact is a guarantee of the high grade of the 

 journal. This initial number consists of 

 three parts, viz., (1) an original article of 86 

 pages; (2) reviews, covering 16 pages, and 

 (3) a classified list of titles of new botanical 

 books and papers. In the first paper there are 

 26 cuts, but this number contains no plates. 

 The type and paper are good. The subscrip- 

 tion price is fixed at 24 Marks. It will with- 

 out doubt soon prove to be one of the most 

 useful of the German botanical journals. 



AMENDING THE VIENNA CODE 



In the February number of the Bulletin of 

 the Torrey Botanical Club nineteen American 

 botanists print eleven motions for amend- 

 ments to the Vienna Code, and present argu- 

 ments therefor. These motions are sub- 

 mitted "for the consideration of the 

 International Botanical Congress to be held in 

 Brussels in 1910." Briefly these motions 

 cover the following points: 



1 and 2. To apply these rules to fossil 

 plants and non-vascular plants, which is not 

 now done in the code. These appear to be 

 desirable motions, and should be adopted. 



3. To abolish the list of " Nomina conser- 

 vanda," i. e., names arbitrarily conserved con- 

 trary to the principle of priority. Here the 

 contention of the committee is sound, and 

 ultimately the code must be so amended as to 

 conform to it, but whether this should be in- 

 sisted upon at the present time admits of argu- 

 ment. 



