September S, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



305 



Nineteenth Centuiy,' 19 pages; Section VII., 

 ' Periodicals,' 11 pages ; Section VIII., ' Acad- 

 emic Dissertations,' 1G7 pages; subject-index, 

 06 pages. 



Doctor Bolton died on November 19, 1903, 

 while the book was passing through the press 

 and most of the proofreading, as well as the 

 preparation of the index, was done by Mr. 

 Axel Moth, of the New York Public Library. 

 This work has been done with a care and ex- 

 cellence that could hardly have been surpassed 

 by Dr. Bolton himself. 



Reference has been made in a previous re- 

 view to the great value of the list of academic 

 dissertations, and increased value is added by 

 the continuation of the list through 1902 in 

 the present supplement. It is to be hoped 

 that at least this portion of the work will 

 from time to time be brought down to date. 

 In this connection it is interesting to note 

 not only the great amount of this literature 

 but also the sources from which it emanates. 

 The list includes for the five years, 1898-1902, 

 about 2,350 dissertations, or nearly 500 a year. 

 As we should expect, the dissertations from the 

 University of Berlin head the list, about ten 

 per cent, emanating from this source. It is, 

 however, a surprise to find that the rather un- 

 familiar University of Rostock comes next 

 with only a dozen less dissertations to its 

 credit. Heidelberg stands a little lower in 

 numbers. Next come Munich, Erlangen and 

 Preiburg in Baden, with about 160 each, and 

 then Leipzig, which we should expect to find 

 relatively much higher in the list, with 130. 

 Basel and Marburg are the only other univer- 

 sities which reach 100. Zurich furnishes 

 about 70 dissertations and then come Bern, 

 Breslau, Preibiirg in Switzerland, Geneva, 

 Giessen, Gottingen, Halle, Kiel, Tubingen and 

 Wlirzburg, each with about 50. This list 

 probably furnishes a pretty good index of the 

 quantity of chemical work done at the differ- 

 ent imiversities, but it must not be overlooked 

 that it is a common practise for students to 

 go for their diplomas to a university where 

 the requirements are known to be less rigid 

 than at Berlin or Leipzig. 



The loss of Dr. Bolton to the chemical world 

 is great. Aside from his other work in chem- 



istry, in two fields he was almost unique. As 

 an antiquarian he was always bringing up 

 interesting and valuable information from his 

 rich mine of historical knowledge of the early 

 days of chemistry and alchemy. But, per- 

 haps, it is as a bibliographer of chemistry he 

 will be best remembered. His ' Select Bibliog- 

 raphy of Chemistry ' might almost be consid- 

 ered a monumental work, so great is its scope 

 and so thoroughly is it carried out. While 

 it has the title of ' select ' rather than ' com- 

 plete,' it is remarkable how little material of 

 value is omitted. It is safe to say that his 

 work is final as far as it goes. His biblio- 

 graphical work is not limited to that which he 

 personally carried out, for he inspired others 

 in the same field. To his influence we owe 

 most of the bibliographies of special elements 

 and allied subjects, which have been published 

 by the Smithsonian Institution, on the recom- 

 mendation of Dr. Bolton, as the chairman of 

 the American Association committee on in- 

 dexing chemical literature. 



Now that the ' International Catalogue of 

 Scientific Literature ' is under way, a part of 

 the work for which Dr. Bolton was so solicitous 

 has become an accomplished fact. The Smith- 

 sonian Institution has for the present ceased 

 publishing special bibliographies of chemical 

 subjects, and in view of the immense mass of 

 nineteenth century scientific literature which 

 ought to be indexed and the need of its sys- 

 tematic treatment, this is undoubtedly wise. . 

 Under the circumstances it is doubtful if there 

 is longer reason for the continuance of the 

 association committee, of which Dr. Bolton 

 was from the first chairman and moving spirit. 

 In the field of chemical bibliography, he will 

 have no successor. 



Jas. Lewis Howe. 

 Washington and Lee Ukiveksity, 

 Lexington, Va. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 



The Journal of Experimental Zoology, Vol. 

 IL, No. 3 (August, 1^05), contains the follow- 

 ing papers: 'A Study of the Germ Cells of 

 Aphis ros^ aind Aphis oenotherse,' by N. M. 

 Stevens. Only one polar body is formed, and 

 there is no reduction in the number of chro- 



