308 
in «xérophthalmia, a dryness of the eyes; 
xérobiotikés, living on dry land; xérophagia, 
the eating of dry food, ete. 
The root of the word aléxein, “to ward or 
keep off, to turn away or aside,” and alézésis, 
“resistance or warding off,” is found in such 
combinations as alexanemia, “shelter from 
the wind,” or where Sophocles in the @dipus, 
uses the adjective aleximoros, “warding off 
fate or death” (jdpos). Hipparchus uses 
alexipharmakos, in the sense of “ warding off 
poison,” or “ acting as an antidote.” 
So the examples might be multiplied. It is 
strange that the Greeks did not themselves 
coin a word for “ drouth-resistance,” for they 
had and have an abundance of drouth to re- 
sist in Hellas, as any one who has ever been 
there in the summer-time can abundantly 
testify. It would be interesting to investigate 
modern Greek terminology on this point. 
A euphonious compound of the two above 
roots can only be made by putting the root for 
drouth first; although the Greek tendency in 
the formation of compounds involving alezxein, 
in the sense of “warding off,” “defending,” 
seems to put the latter first, as in Aléxandros 
(Alexander)—defender of men (anér, man)— 
in the examples given above, and many others. 
To follow this practise and coin such a word 
as alexixerotésis might be possible for a Greek, 
but not for us. 
Let us accordingly turn the roots around. 
We then find that we have available for the 
first member of the compound, two possible 
nouns, viz., aléxésis (aAeéyows)—“a keeping 
off” or “resistance,” and aléxis (dds) 
“help ”—both from the same root as the verb 
alexéo or aléxd (dAcééw, dAcEw), infinitive 
aléxein (a\eEexv)—a verb which has both the 
primary signification of to “ward off” or “ re- 
sist ” and the derived one of “to help.” Here 
we encounter a difficulty. If we follow a nat- 
ural analogy and say zeraléxis, following 
“prophylaxis” from the Greek phulaxis 
(pvdAaéis), a “ watching ” or “ guarding,” then 
we seem to imply a derivation from the word 
aléxis, “help,” rather than from alézésis, 
“warding off.” But on the other hand, 
“veraléxésis” is slightly longer than 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXXV. No. 895 
“ drouth-resistance.” There remains, of 
course, the possibility of following another 
valid Greek analogy, and saying xeraléaxia. 
On the whole, however, xeraléxis is prefer- 
able on the score of brevity and ease of pro- 
nunciation. Perhaps we are justified in call- 
ing it a “contract form” of “ xeraléxesis,” if 
that will satisfy the philologists. 
We then have for “ drouth-resistance,” 
aweralexis and for “ drouth-resistant,” xera- 
lectic. In the writer’s estimation these 
words might well replace in botanical language 
generally, not only our English compound, but 
the awkward French résistance a la sécheresse, 
or the German Austrocknungs-resistenz. At 
all events the new word is logical—as logical 
as “ecological ” in fact. 
H. F. Roserts 
CRYPTOBRANCHUS ALLEGHANIENSIS, LARUS ATRI- 
CILLA AND LARUS MARINUS IN NORTH 
DAKOTA 
In a recent article,» Pope has recorded the 
hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleghaniensis) 
and the laughing gull (Larus atricilla) as 
abundant, and the black-backed gull (Larus 
marinus) as occasional at Devils Lake, North 
Dakota. These records, if verified, would be 
of much interest, extending the range of the 
hellbender to the northwest of that hitherto 
recognized and bringing the laughing and 
black-backed gulls from the Atlantic coast far 
into the interior. In three summers spent in 
this region, however, I have been unable to 
verify Pope’s records and seriously question 
their accuracy, both for this reason and be- 
cause of their inherent improbability. 
Franklin’s gull (Larus franklini) a bird 
which might readily be mistaken by an inex- 
perienced observer for the laughing gull (L. 
atricilla) is a common breeder in this locality, 
after the breeding season gathering in large 
flocks upon the lake. Pope has probably mis- 
taken the ring-billed gull (Larus delawaren- 
sis) for the black-backed (LZ. marinus). I 
1Pope, Thomas E. B., ‘‘ Devils Lake, North Da- 
kota. A Study of Physical and Biological Condi- 
tions with a View to the Acclimatization of Fish,’’ 
Bureau of Fisheries Document, No. 634. 
