SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 24. 



commissural fibres of the lobes are resolved Into a 

 fine reticulum, which, grouped in certain spots, forms 

 what Bellimci calls the olfactory glomeruli. The lobes 

 of arthropods have an outer portion with a diffuse 

 reticulum, and an inner portion with glomeruli. In 

 vertebrates the ganglicm-cells lie within the legion of 

 the glomeruli. In vertebrates and crustaceans tbere 

 are numeious small, and fewer large, cells. In in- 

 sects the elements are of small or medium size. In 

 both arthropods and vei'tel)rates the fibres establish 

 botli a direct and a cross (chiasma) communication 

 between the olfactofy and optic lobes; likewise be- 

 tween the olfactory lobes and tlie higher centres 

 (reniform bodies of Squilla, fungiform of insects, and 

 hemispheres of vertebrates). These resemblances 

 the author attributes to an analogy of function, and 

 not to a morphological homology between vertebrates 

 and arthropods. The observations were made on 

 Squilla, Gryllotalpa, the eel and frog. — {Arch. ital. 

 biol., iii. 191. A wrong title is given at the head of 

 the pages. ) c. s. M. [90 



Protozoa. 



Action of tannin ou Paramecium. — H. J. 

 Wadilington states, that, by bringing a drop of a 

 solution of one part tannin in four parts glycerine in 

 contact with a drop containing a Paramecium, the 

 motion of the animal is stopped, and the cilia become 

 beautifully distinct. They appear quite straight and 

 surprisingly long, equal to the short diameter of the 

 body. Previous ideas as to the size and number of the 

 cilia have been very incorrect. To kill infusoria lie 

 recommends a saturated alcoholic solution of sul- 

 phurous acid; for, if a small quantity be added to 

 water, the gas is set free, and the animals in the 

 water poiscmed. He also reports an ingenious device 

 to catch infusoria: crumbs of very hard baked biscuit 

 are put in tlie water, wbere they will be held up by 

 confervae; fungoid growths spring from each crumb, 

 the infusoria collect between the filaments as in a 

 favorite resort, and the whole colony may be cap- 

 tured by pulling out the crumb. — {Journ. roy. 

 micr. soc. Lond., iii. 185.) c. s. M. [91 



Descriptions of rotifers. — To the eight species 

 previously described of the genus Floscularia, C. T. 

 Hudson now adds three, and gives also some notes 

 on F. regalis Hudson. These four last-mentioned 

 species are described and figured, and a synoptic 

 table of all the species is added. In an appended 

 note, the autlior comments on Leidy's Acyclus and 

 Dictyophora (cf. Science, i. 37). Hetlunks Acyclus 

 is related to the floscules. " Its ' oral cup ' with the 

 ' incurved beak ' may be fairly said to be the buccal 

 funnel of a floscule reduced to the possession of one 

 lobe, viz., the dorsal one." The remainder is con- 

 cerned with details, and with the degradation of 

 certain rotifers, considered in connection with the 

 absence of the trochal disk. — {Journ. roy. micr. soc. 

 Lond., iii. IGl.) c^s. m. [92 



Worms, 



Anatomy of Gephyreans. — Dr. C. Ph. Sluiter 



gives a preliminary notice of his observations on the 



anatomy of various species. An abstract will be 



given of his definite memoir when published. — 



(Zoo(. anz., vi. 222.) c. s. m. [93 



Annelid messmates -with a coral. — J. W. 



Fewkes finds annelid tubes formed on the rim of 

 young Mycedium fragile. As the coral grows, it 

 spreads round the worm-lube ; but the latter grows 

 usually equally with coral. The presence of these 

 tubes affects the regular growth of the coral. The 

 species of worm does not appear to have been deter- 

 mined. — {Anitr. nat., xvii. 59.5.) c. s. M. [94 

 Spermatogenesis of Nemertines. — In an article 

 in the Eeviie sc. nat., 1S82, 16.5, Sabatier describes 

 the development of the spermatozoa in nemertean 

 worms. The parent cells separate into two parts, the 

 central blastophore and perijiheral bodies, wliich be- 

 come independent, and attach themselves to tlie wall 

 of the speimisac. From these bodies the spermato- 

 zoa arise by differentiation of the peripheral part 

 into spherules, which elongate and become sperma- 

 tozoa. In his theoretical conclusion, the author 

 adopts the theory first advanced by Minot (]iiol. cen- 

 tralbl. ,1SS2), that the ordinary cells are neuter, or 

 combine both sexual elements, and that when a sep- 

 aration takes place the sexual products are gener- 

 ated. He makes an addition, however, to the theory, 

 by the hypothesis that the central portion is female, 

 the peripheral male. (There are many facts which 

 appear at present irreconcilable with tliis view of the 

 sexual relations within the cell.) — {Journ. roy. micr. 

 soc. Lond., April, 1SS3.) c. s. M. [95 



VBBTBBHATES. 

 Action of alcohols on the heart. — The rela- 

 tive effects of different alcohols of the marsh-gas se- 

 ries of hydrocarbons ujaon the ventricle of the frog's 

 heart have been compared experimentally by Ringer 

 and Sainsbury. The method of experimenting was 

 to place the heart in a Roy's tonometer, and feed 

 it with the extract of dried bullock's blood until it 

 was beating normally; the alcohol used was then 

 added to the circulating liquid in such quantities, 

 determined by previous experiments, as to completely 

 ariest the contractions of the heart within an hour. 

 The toxic action of the alcohols used was measured 

 by the dose sufficient to arrest the activity of the 

 heart. The following results were obtained. Nor- 

 mal methyl, ethyl, and propyl alcohol, — all three stop 

 the heart in diastole, the ventricle losing its power 

 to beat spontaneously, and refusing to respond to 

 external stimulation. The excitability of the heart 

 to electrical stimulation is diminished. The ' period 

 of diminished excitability' is shortened. The pri- 

 mary effect of the alcohols on the heart is not, as 

 might be supposed from their therapeutical use as 

 cardiac stimulants, to increase the force or frequency 

 of the ventricular contractions. The height of the 

 curve given by the tonometer diminished steadily 

 from the first application of the alcohol, and the fre- 

 quency of the beats remained unaffected, except in 

 the later stages,' when the power of the heart to beat 

 spontaneously was lost. With regard to tlie toxic 

 action of the different alcohols, the following num- 

 bers are given (the figures represent the number of 



