110 



The name of Siebold is connected with the introduction of 

 many rare and beautiful plants into the Gardens of Europe, more 

 particularly, Japanese lilies, camellias, and chrysanthemums. 

 His herbarium of the plants of Japan contained about two thou- 

 sand species and twelve thousand numbers. The types of the 

 Flora Japonica are now in the Herbarium of the Imperial Academy 

 of St. Petersburg : Thunberg's Japanese types are in the Deles- 

 sert Collection at Geneva; Kaempfer's plants of Japan and his 

 manuscripts are preserved in the British Museum. 



Siebold's Flora Japonica consists of three large folios contain- 

 ing colored plates of numerous rare and curious plants. On the 

 title-page we find a tangible record, here reproduced, of the 

 monument to Kaempfer and Thunberg which, at his own ex- 

 pense, Siebold erected to their memory on the island of Desima. 

 In the Leben und Wirken von Philip Franz Siebold by his son, it 

 is with singular satisfaction that we read that his surviving stu- 

 dents and the nobles and statesmen of Japan have erected a monu- 

 ment in Nagasaki in honor of the man who, according to the 

 closing lines of the inscription, deserves the first place among 

 the men, " welche Kenner und Vertreter der europaischen Wis- 

 senschaft waren ; folglich ruht der Ruhm der grossen That, der 

 Einfuhrung der Civilisation im heutigen Japan, auf Siebold, des- 

 sen Andenken dieser Stein gewidmet ist." 



Mary Perle Anderson. 



WHY IS A SUBSTANCE POISON? 

 The study of poisons and their influence upon living organisms 

 has always been prominent in animal and plant physiology. The 

 reason for this is, that since poisons more or less disturb the so- 

 called vital processes and tend to change the behavior of an or- 

 ganism, the belief has prevailed that the study of poisons and of 

 poisoning will bring us nearer to a solution of the mystery of life 

 itself. 



