April 13, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



289 



meduUated nerves tliat give off the naked fibres to 

 form the periv;iscnlar plexus. Bremer closes his 

 paper with criticisms of previous writers on the sub- 

 ject. — {Arch, mlkros. anat., xxi. 663.) c. s. M. [623 



Pish. 



A pleuronectoid hybrid. — A curious flatfish 

 was sent to Dr. K. E. H. Krause of Kostock, and has 

 been noticed by him as hybrid between the plaice 

 (Platessa vulgaris) and turbot (Ehombus maximus). 

 No figures or descriptions are given to enable the 

 reader to form an opinion for himself. — (Arch. ver. 

 freunde naiurg. Meckl., xxxv. 110.) T. G. [623 



The bones of Lophius pisoatorius. — An article 

 with this caption has been published by Robert Mor- 

 row. The bones of the skeleton are described in the 

 sequence followed by Cuvier, but with Owen's nomen- 

 clature. The article is deficient in the clearness and 

 precision which could only result from comparisou 

 with related forms. — {Proc. trana. Nova Scot, inst., 

 5, 340. ) T. G. [624 



Fishes of Wisconsin. — A Catalogue of the cold- 

 blooded vertebrates of Wisconsin has been furnished 

 by Dr. P. E. Hoy to the geological survey of the 

 state. The classification of the first edition of Jor- 

 dan's manual has been adopted, and a hundred and 

 forty-two species are catalogued. The list is little 

 more than a nominal one, and is replete with typo- 

 graphical errors. It is not evident, either, to what 

 extent the identifications of species can be relied 

 upon, although the author acknowledges "great ob- 

 ligations to Prof. David S. Jordan, as well as to the 

 lamented Copeland, for valuable assistance in deter- 

 mining species." Dr. Hoy thinks that " Wisconsin 

 has, perhaps, the best facilities for fish-culture of any 

 state in the Union," as there are ' not less than 1,800 

 lakes,' covering 'some 1,400 square miles,' in the 

 state. — {Hep. yeol. sure. n''isc., i. 427.) T. G. [625 



Development of the lachrymal duct in mam- 

 mals. — Von Baer referred the development of the 

 lachrymal canal to an evaginatioii of the pharyngeal 

 cavity; Burdach, to a fold in the skin starting from the 

 corner of the eye. The first to assert that it arises as 

 a groove between the upper jaw and external nasal 

 process was Erdl, whose view was shortly after, but 

 independently, advanced by Coste, and since has been 

 widely accepted. Its accuracy became questionable 

 when Born showed {Morph. jahrb., ii.) that the canal 

 arises in amphibians, lizards, and chicks, as an in- 

 growth from the inner surface of the epidermis. The 

 ingrowing band becomes subsequently constricted, 

 surrounded by connective tissue, and hollowed out 

 into a canal. Ewetzky (^rc/i. ./itr augenheilk., viii. ) 

 found later the same mode of development in cattle. 



E. Legal now reports his investigations on this 

 theme, carried out principally on pigs, but also on 

 mice and rabbits. The first indication of the lachry- 

 mal canal is at the time when the nasal pits commu- 

 nicate with the mouth by the primitive choanae, and 

 the Jacobsou's canal is well developed, —while ex- 

 ternally the so-called lachrymal furrow may be seen 

 (pigs, 4.2 cm., extreme length). The epithelium of 

 the lachrymal furrow is thicker than the rest of the 

 epidermis, because there are one or two layers of 

 cells between tlie basal cylinder and the superficial 

 flat cells, which elsewhere alone constitute the epi- 

 dermis. The inner surface of the epidermis of the 

 furrow grows into a ridge, which begins at the open- 

 ing of Jacobsou's organ into the nasal cavity. The 

 ridge grows higher, and finally separates from the 

 skin, forming a rod, the separation becoming com- 



pleted soonest at the nasal end. The upper end of 

 the rod is connected with the upper lid, but soon 

 forms a stout branch, which grows towards, but does 

 not reach, the lower lid of the eye. The details of 

 the growth of the rod are fully entered into. The 

 canalization begins late, and at the ocular end, and 

 is effected by the separation of the central cells of the 

 rod. — {Morph. jahrb., -viu. S53.) c. s. m. [626 



Morphology of the mammalian germ. — The 

 strange hypothesis is advanced by Eepiachoff, that 

 the impregnated ovum of mammals is a distinct indi- 

 vidual, which divides into two individuals. One of 

 the desceodants only, Van Beneden's ' entoderraatic ' 

 segmentation-sphere, grows up like a spore into the 

 complete sexual individual. (This seems over-fanci- 

 ful.) — {Zool. anz., vi. 65.) c. s. m. [627 



Harder's glands in rodents. — Karnocki has re- 

 cently made some studies upon the nature of these 

 structures in rabbits, guinea-pigs, and rats. In 

 rabbits and hares, in contradistinction to all other 

 rodents, the gland consists of two portions, — a supe- 

 rior (white) and an inferior (reddish gray) half, hav- 

 ing a common duct. The latter opens near the free 

 border of the eyelid, and, passing backward directly 

 to the gland, divides, giving off many branches to each 

 half. Within the gland the branching increases until 

 the terminal vesicle is reached. The latter consists of 

 proportionally long, broad, and repeatedly branched 

 serpentine passages, with lateral expansions. There 

 is no constriction of the gland proper at its juncture 

 with the duct. This structure distinguishes the Har- 

 derian glands of rodents from true acinose glands, 

 and brings them close to the pyloric and other similar 

 glands. The contents of the glands consist of a pro- 

 toplasmic stroma in which, in the red portion, large 

 fat globules, but in the white portion only small 

 globules, float. The globules in the red portion vary 

 with the age and condition of the animal. 



In guinea-pigs the gland corresponds to the red 

 portion in rabbits. Tlie duct is very small, and hard 

 to find. The fat globules of the secretion are of more 

 equal size than in the rabbit. The Harderian glands 

 of rats contain a large quantity of a granular, red 

 coloring-matter, which is not altered by alkalies or 

 dilute acetic acid, but becomes bleached in dilute 

 mineral acids. The red-colored secretion is confined 

 to that portion of the gland outside the lumen, that 

 within being colorless. It contains no large fat 

 globules. 



The remainder of the paper is devoted to the his- 

 tology and embryology of the glands. 



The author doubts if the glands of the corner of 

 the eye in other groups of animals, hitherto described 

 as Harderian glands, are in reality such. — {Proc. 

 Cracow acad. ; abstr. in Biol, central-blatt, ii. 709.) 

 F. w. T. [628 



The color of horses. — Notes by a large number 

 of observers upon the color of horses in different 

 parts of the globe have been brought together by Dr. 

 Langkavel in a very interesting manner. White and 

 gray horses are, perhaps, the most general favorites ; 

 but a great variety of other colors are held in esteem. 

 It is noticeable that black horses are little sought for, 

 except by Europeans. — {Zoohxj. rjarten, xxiv. 38.) 

 F. w. T. [629 



The baleen -whales. — The recently published part 

 of Van Beneden's description of the vertebrate fossils 

 of the vicinity of Antwerp contains a summary of the 

 present knowledge of the geographical distribution, 

 habits and identity, of existing species of baleen 

 whales. Five species of Balaena, four of Balaenop- 

 tera, and two of Megaptera, are recognized. — {Ann. 

 mus. hist. nat. Belg.,pal., vii.) F. w. T. [630 



