April 19, 1918] 



SCIENCE 



381 



reference, and some brief notes, for each report, 

 and are called for at irregular intervals. A 

 brief final examination is given. 



Two to four seniors who have taken this 

 course serve in the department library as 

 student assistants. Three of the men found 

 use for the training in library work in their 

 commercial work during the past summer. 

 One who had also worked in the department 

 library has a good position as " reference 

 librarian " with a large company interested in 

 chemical work. 



The library lectures alone have been used 

 for reference by graduate students, especially 

 those who have not had access to large li- 

 braries, and wish to learn what is available 

 at Illinois. 



Marion E. Sparks 



unrversity of illinois 



RESEARCH WORK AT THE UNIVER- 

 SITY OF MICHIGAN BIOLOGICAL 

 STATION DURING THE SUMMER 

 OF 1917 

 Eesearch work was carried on at the bio- 

 logical station of the University of jrichigan, 

 by members of the instructional staff and by 

 a nimiber of students. Because of the lack of 

 suitable laboratory space and equipment, the 

 character of work undertaken was limited 

 largely to systematic and ecological work on 

 plants and animals, the behavior of birds, the 

 embryology of certain fishes and life histories 

 of parasitic worms. This is fundamental work, 

 however, and as knowledge of the local fauna 

 and flora is extended it is desired to give 

 opportunity for careful physiological work. 

 While the cold, late season doubtless inter- 

 fered with certain investigations continued 

 from previous years, it permitted the securing 

 of many plants in blossom which in ordinary 

 seasons have finished their blossoming before 

 the opening of the station, and by retarding 

 the breeding season of many animals an op- 

 portunity was given to take at the height of 

 their breeding season several animals not 

 usually found breeding during the session. 

 Dr. J. H. Ehlers, of the University of Mich- 

 igan, collected about two thousand specimens 



of flowering plants comprising about two hun- 

 dred and fifty species. A number of these 

 represented genera and species not included in 

 the published list of this region. 



Mr. Lee Bonar, of the University of Mich- 

 igan, under direction of Dr. Ehlers, collected 

 plants affected with fimgous diseases with the 

 view of listing the host plants and studying 

 the parasitic fungi. 



Miss Margaret Pengelly, under Dr. Ehlers's 

 direction, made a collection of the grasses of 

 the region. Fifty species were collected, forty- 

 five of which have been identified. Further 

 collections are planned before publication of 

 results. 



Miss Lois Smith, of Colorado College, re- 

 search assistant in botany, was engaged in the 

 collection and study of sedges of the genus 

 Carex. This work had been begun in 1914 

 when forty-nine species were collected and 

 identified. During the past summer a large 

 number of specimens were collected, among 

 them a number of species not included in the 

 previous list. The material is now being 

 studied by Miss Smith and a published report 

 on the work may be expected soon. The spec- 

 imens belonging to the above collection will 

 be placed in the herbaria of the station and 

 of the university, while some will be available 

 for exchange. 



Dr. Richard M. Holman, of Wabash College, 

 and Mr. Ernest Reed, of the University of 

 Michigan, have made a beginning in the study 

 of the aquatic eryptogamic plants. They de- 

 voted the greater part of their time to the 

 identification of the algal forms of the lakes 

 and streams of the region, to the study of the 

 topography and hydrography of these lakes, 

 and to collecting such facts as they were able 

 relative to the spatial and seasonal distribu- 

 tion of the forms. Weekly temperature read- 

 ings were made at ten foot depth intervals at 

 four stations on Douglas Lake and at Lan- 

 caster, Munro and Vincent Lakes. Surface 

 plankton hauls were taken at all these stations 

 weekly, and plankton samples were taken at 

 depth intervals of twenty feet in Douglas 

 Lake. Bottom samples were also taken in 

 order to determine diatom species not found 



