June 4, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



901 



tonaceae the author finds evidence of reduc- 

 tion from " some form similar to the present 

 submerged Potamogetons, with Zanmchellia 

 and Althenia serving as examples of stiU fur- 

 ther reduction." 



In the Botanische Zeitung for November 1, 

 1908, H. Bruchmann's paper, "Das Prothal- 

 lium von Lycopodium complanatum L." adds 

 materially to our knowledge of the gameto- 

 phjrte generation of this species. The tissues 

 of the erect, tuberous gametophyte are shown 

 to consist of a rhizoid-bearing epidermis; a 

 layer containing endophytes; a layer of ra- 

 dially arranged palisade cells, and a large- 

 celled central mass of parenchyma. Branch- 

 ing occurs, giving rise to increased areas for 

 the sexual organs. Some of these prothallia 

 are ujiisexual and others bisexual. The sexual 

 organs are crowded into dense masses at the 

 summit of the prothallium and are of the 

 usual type of structure. 



Albert Mann, expert in charge of special 

 barley investigations in the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, makes a preliminary report of the results ' 

 of his study of the problems of how to recog- 

 nize the best grades of barley (Circular No. 

 16, issued November 25, 1908) in which he 

 finds that " the diastatie and cytatic starch 

 ferments are wholly the product of the scutel- 

 lum and are secreted by its outer layer," and 

 that there is so little of these ferments found 

 in the starch cells that " it is practically neg- 

 ligible." Purthermore, "the aleuron layer 

 has nothing whatever to do with this process," 

 namely, the change of starch into a soluble 

 form for absorption by the embryo, which is 

 identical with what takes place in " malting." 

 Hence the scutellum is the "malting organ," 

 and that barley is best for malting purposes 

 that contains the largest scutellum in the 

 grain. 



Charles E. Besset 



The UNiVEBsrrr of Nebeaska 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 

 SOME GEOLOGICAL PROBLEMS 



Among the larger problems iu the geology 

 of eastern North America which to-day claim 



attention are : the determination of the east- 

 ward and southeastward extension in their 

 metamorphosed condition of the less altered 

 rocks of the Hudson Valley and the satisfac- 

 tory separation from these of the pre-Cam- 

 brie; as well as the separation and correlation 

 of the divisions of the latter, if such exist. 





J. D. Dana early essayed to show the con- 

 tinuity of the limestones and schists of the 

 New York- Connecticut border with those of 

 Westchester County, New York. P. J. H. 

 Merrill took up the question later and reached 

 practically the same conclusions. The work 

 of Cook in New Jersey had shown how in- 

 timately the lower Paleozoics are involved 

 in the Highlands of that state. Many of the 

 facts seemed to point to a oneness in age of 

 much of this limestone, schist and slate with 

 the unaltered rocks to the north and west 

 in the Hudson Valley and on the flanks of 

 the Highlands. 



