316 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., No. 11. 



The insect produces larger swellings in the roots, 

 which Millardet calls nodosities, and smaller swellings, 

 which he calls tuberosities. Tlie nodosities appear at 

 any time from April to September, whilst the tuber- 

 osities are not found before August. The rotting of 

 the roots is caused by the invasion of a fungus which 

 enters through the cracks in the nodosities and tuber- 

 osities. According to Millardet, the fungus is what 

 is known as Rhizoraorpha subterranea when it occurs 

 in the ground, and R. subcorticalis when it grows in 

 the roots and stems. Hartig and others consider the 

 fully developed form of the Rhizomorpha to be the 

 toadstool (Agaricus melleus), which is common near 

 Bordeaux, especially on oaks. The mycelium of this 

 fungus makes its way into the soil of the vineyards 

 from neighboring groves, and enters the roots of the 

 vines which have been attacked by the Phylloxera, 

 and produces a white rot, commonly known as pour- 

 ridle. The writer concludes as follows : " It is beyond 

 doubt, that the disease caused by Phylloxera predis- 

 poses to that of the rot. Should one say in these cases 

 that the vine succumbs to the rot and not to the Phyl- 

 loxera? Evidently not; since, without the Phyllox- 

 era, the rot would not have made its appearance." — 

 w. G. F. [662 



Ttwo curious fungi of the United States. — 

 The two genera Testicularia and Cycloderraa were 

 described by Klotzsch in 1832; but since that date bot- 

 anists have been unable to recognize the two genera 

 with certainty. Cooke now describes a new Cyclo- 

 derma Ohiensis, and shows that the Milleria herbatica 

 of Peck is the long-lost Testicularia cjperi of 

 Klotzsch. — ( Grevillea, March, 1883. ) w. G. F. [663 



Bangiaoeae of Naples. — The eighth monograph 

 of the fauna and flora of the Bay of Naples com- 

 prises the Bangiaceae, by Dr. G. Berthold, and is of 

 interest, since he now gives the details of the forma- 

 tion of the spores; these are formed by the action of 

 antherozoids on .the cells of the thallus, which can 

 hardly be said to produce trichogynes, as is the case in 

 all other Florideae, to which, however, the Bangiaceae 

 apparently belong. — w. o. F. [664 



Bacteria in fishes. — Olivier and Richet have ex- 

 amined 150 fishes of different genera and species, and 

 find, in all cases, that there are microbes in the blood 

 and lymph. They conclude, that, contrary to what is 

 believed to be the case in other vertebrates, microbes 

 occur normally in the fluids of fishes. — ( Coinptes ren- 

 dus, 1883.) w. a. F. [665 



Functional differentiation in stamens. — Fritz 

 Miiller adds Mollia, Sagerstroemia, and Heteranthera 

 to the list of plants having two sets of stamens in 

 each flower, one of which attracts insects, and sup- 

 plies them with food, while the other serves for pol- 

 lination by their aid. Experiments show that the 

 crape-myrtle (Sagerstroemia), though self-sterile, is 

 readily fertilized by pollen from either set of stamens 

 of another variety grown in other gardens. The dull 

 color of the longer stamens in the cases mentioned, 

 and of the long stamens in short and mid-styled flow- 

 ers of the Irnnorphic Lythrum, is explained as bene- 

 ficial, as their lack of conspieuousuess renders these 

 unprotected stamens less liable to ihe depredations 

 of pollen-eating insects than would otherwise be the 

 case. As examples of plants whose stamens are differ- 

 entiated into sets having different forms and offices, 

 but without the color-contrasts found in most in- 

 stances, a species of Cassia and Solanura rostratum 

 are mentioned. — {Nature, Feb. 15.) w. T. [666 



Capture of prey in Sarracenia. — In a compila- 

 tion on pitcher-plants, Mr. James makes the curious 



suggestion that the insects which are found so abun- 

 dantly in the pitchers of Sarracenia purpurea are first 

 intoxicated by feeding on the pollen or nectar in its 

 flowers, whence they fall into the leaves. — {Arner. 

 nai., March. ) w. T. [667 



Bee-flowers. — In his 'signs and seasons,' John 

 Burroughs states that hepaticas are sometimes fra- 

 grant, sometimes scentless, the same being true of the 

 arrow-leaved violet. Humblebees perforate flowers 

 of the locust for their nectar, and hive-bees afterward 

 make use of the openings. Rarely the honey-bee 

 worlis upon the blossoms of trailing arbutus. In mid- 

 summer it reaps a harvest from the smooth sumach. 

 It has also been observed on the white oak and skunk 

 cabbage. — (Century mag., Murch.) w. T. [668 



Origin of anemophilous flowers. — Adaptation 

 to fertilization in the wind-swept, treeless areas over 

 which they prevail, is believed by Grant Allen to be 

 the reason for the inconspicuous wind-fertilized 

 flowers of grasses, which are considered degenerate 

 descendants of conspicuous-flowered plants related 

 to the Liliaceae. Passing notice is given to the pol- 

 lination of rushes, sedges, and related plants. — 

 {Macmillaii's macj.; Pop. sc. monthly, March.) w. T. 



[669 



New^ Passifloreae. — The collection of Passiflo- 

 reae made by M. Andre' in Ecuador and New Granada 

 in 1875 and 1876 has been worked up by Dr. Masters. 

 It comprised nine species of Tacsonia and over tliirty 

 of Passiflora, half of which are new. The list is 

 accompanied with numerous critical notes and with 

 revised synonymy, as supplementary to Masters's mon- 

 ograph of the order in the 'Flora Brasiliensis,' and to 

 Triana and Planchon's of the New Granada species, 

 — all the more valuable for the unusual excellence 

 of Andre's specimens, and his descriptive notes and 

 careful analytical drawings from the living plants. — 

 (Journ. Linn. isoc. Land., Feb., 1883.) s. w. [670 



ZOOLOGY. 



MoUnsks, 

 Disease in oysters. — A new disease has recently 

 appeared in the Rappahannock oysters, called, locally, 

 'the black spot.' A small black spot, impercepti- 

 ble to a careless observer, appears upon the oyster, 

 and shortly afterward death ensues. All around the 

 spot the meat is good; but this, when bitten into, 

 proves bitter and nauseous. It is considered the 

 most serious of the afflictions to which the mollusk is 

 subject. — (Hopson's (Sea worM, March 15.) w. h. d. 



Venus mercenaria in Britain. — It appears from 

 a note by Mr. F. P. Marrat, that Venus mercenaria 

 L., our round clam or quahaug, has become natural- 

 ized in British waters. In 1869, Capt. I. H. Morti- 

 mer introduced this shell-fish into England, where 

 specimens were put into the sea at Southport, at the 

 mouth of tlie Mersey, and at Crosby, on the Lanca- 

 shire coast. It is believed that an American, Mr. H. 

 D. Brandeth, doing business at Liverpool, and resid- 

 ing at Hilbre Island, near the mouth of the Dee, de- 

 posited both this species and the American oyster in 

 the waters adjacent to the island, four or five years 

 ago. At all events, large numbers of the shells of the 

 Venvis have recently been found by collectors, cast 

 up on the shores near Hilbre Island in such a man- 

 ner as to indicate that this species has become fully 

 acclimatized there. — w. h. d. [672 



Insects. 



Innervation of the respiratory mechanism in 



insects. — Dr. O. Langendorff denies Donhoff's state- 



