Februaey 21, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



31] 



assimilis with. Special Reference to the 

 Nebenkern: W. J. Baumgartner. 



After the anaphase of the second sperma- 

 tocyte division, the chromosomes separate and 

 break up as has been described in other forms. 

 But as the nucleus elongates to form the head 

 of the spermatozoon, it forms a tube instead of 

 a solid loass as described for other forms. The 

 head has a darkly-staining outer wall of chro- 

 matin, and a hollow clear space probably filled 

 with nuclear sap. 



The remaining fibers, after they are cut by 

 the division-plane, become fewer and thicker; 

 their ends bend together and they form a 

 'striated' nebenkern, a condition not previ- 

 ously described. This striated nebenkern 

 looks like an egg with dark drawn-out ends, 

 and several (frequently five) dark cross 

 strias parallel with the long axis of the cell. 



In a relatively short time the fibers break 

 up, and soon the dark-staining substance ap- 

 pears as a round ball, which, with the immedi- 

 ately surrounding clear space, is enclosed by 

 a surrounding membrane. In cross-section 

 this appears as a dark circle, a ring of clear 

 space and another dark ring. 



Aa the axial filament grows out it passes 

 over the surface of the bounding membrane, 

 and not through the nebenkern. Soon after 

 this the nebenkern elongates, loses the ring, 

 and the dark ball passes back (away from the 

 nucleus) along the tail, sometimes breaking 

 up into several small drops. The substance 

 is thus distributed over the tail and forms a 

 covering for it. 



A second body in the cytoplasm is smaller 

 and always lies in the angle between the nu- 

 cleus and the nebenkern. As the nebenkern 

 passes backward and disappears, it moves up 

 against the nuclear membrane, passes to the 

 front end of the elongating head and forms 

 the point. Its origin could not be determined, 

 but from its destiny it corresponds to an 

 aerosome. 



C. M. Child, 

 Secretary. 



THE TEXAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



The formal midwinter meeting of the Tex- 

 as Academy of Science was held in the rooms 



of the Business Men's Club, at Waco, on 

 Thursday evening, December 26, and Friday 

 morning, December 27, 1901. 



The speaker at the evening session was Dr. 

 Frederic W. Simonds, Professor of Geology 

 in the State University. He was introduced 

 by the president. Professor J. C. Nagle, of the 

 Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. 



The subject as announced was 'Petroleum.' 

 The speaker opened with a brief statement 

 concerning the oil development in the State of 

 Texas — a comparison having been made with 

 the fields in the North and in California. He 

 then entered upon a discussion of the nature 

 of petroleum, showing its position in the hy- 

 dro-carbon compounds and commented at 

 some length upon its physical properties. The 

 theories of the origin of petroleum received 

 special attention, references having been made 

 to the early work of the late Dr. T. Sterry 

 Hunt and the more recent work of the late 

 Professor Orton as well as to the investiga- 

 tions of many other distinguished students. 

 The evolution of the oil well from that which 

 was hand drilled to the modern steam drilled 

 well was discussed and the latest statistics of 

 the oil industry both in the United States and 

 in Texas announced. With the generous as- 

 sistance of Dr. A. F. Sontagg thirty excellent 

 illustrations of the present condition of the 

 oil development in Texas, including several 

 Beaumont gushers, were thrown upon the 

 screen. 



At the morning session the following papers 

 were presented: 'The Petroleum of Jefferson 

 County, Texas,' by Professor H. H. Harring- 

 ton, of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 

 lege of Texas. Of this oil he says : " It makes 

 an excellent fuel oil; but this is not to my 

 mind its most promising feature. The sul- 

 phur which it contains (about 2 per cent.) is 

 larger than that found in any other known 

 petroleum; and is a menace to it as a source 

 of illuminating oil or kerosene. Unlike most 

 other oils in the United States, it has asphalt 

 for a base * * *. This, it seems to me, is the 

 key to its usefulness. Distilled it furnishes a 

 good quantity of kerosene fraction, but with 

 a high boiling-point and leaves a residue of 

 fine asphalt, not excelled perhaps by that of 



