134 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 578. 



tinarius formed ectotrophic mycorhiza on 

 at least three forest plants, viz., Acer sac- 

 charinum Wang., Quercus rubra L. and 

 Celastrus scandens L. In two cases the 

 fruit-bodies were found, attached to the 

 strands which were associated with the 

 roots. Other trees and shrubs in the same 

 locality, even including individuals of red 

 oak, had no connection with the fungus. 



Further Studies on the Ascus: J. Horace 



Faull. 



The differences of opinion regarding the 

 systematic position of the Laboulbeniaeese 

 have been in a large measure due to igno- 

 rance of the nuclear phenomena within 

 the spore sac. An examination of a fair 

 abundance of material shows that the 

 young spore sac is occupied by a fusion 

 nucleus, that three generations of nuclei 

 follow, that as a rule four of the last gen- 

 eration pass to the upper end of the spore 

 sac and break down, and that through the 

 activity of the rest four spores are formed. 

 These spores are formed in a way that dif- 

 fers in no essential respect from that al- 

 ready described for several of the Asco- 

 mycetes. The paper concluded with a 

 summary of the essential phenomena of 

 Ascus and spore formation in Ascomycetes, 

 and with these the phenomena just noted 

 in Laboulhenia were found to agree. 

 Ecological Reconnaissance of the Isle Royal 



Region: W. P. Hilt. 

 Notes on Nebraska Grasses: Charles B. 



Bessey. Bradley M. Davis, 



Secretary pro tern. 



fiCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 



A Text-hook of Physiology. For medical 

 students and physicians. By William H. 

 Howell, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology in 

 the Johns Hopkins University. Philadel- 

 phia, W. B. Saunders and Co. 1905. Pp. 

 905. 8vo. Cloth, $4.00. 

 The . ' American Text-book of Physiology,' 



which had its first edition in 1896 under the 



editorship of Professor Howell, was at that 

 time and is perhaps now the most pretentious 

 effort of American authors in physiology. It 

 was thought that ' the advantages derived from 

 the collaboration method ' would be great in 

 that it would give the reader the advantage 

 of the specialist's point of view in every field 

 of physiology. As a matter of trial these 

 joint author text-books are proving heavy for 

 the student and are being relegated to the field 

 of the reference book. Users of the ' American 

 Text-book,' who are, therefore, familiar with 

 the uniform high excellence of the chapters 

 written by its editor, will be more than grati- 

 fied by the appearance of the present volume 

 by Professor Howell. The author's well- 

 known terseness of style and directness of 

 statement permeate the book from cover to 

 cover. The treatment is kept well within the 

 limits set by the title-page, yet Dr. Howell has 

 gone far afield into the most recent literature, 

 giving us a storehouse of physiological fact 

 and scientific theory such as one rarely finds 

 in a modern text-book. 



Much new material, evidently the accu- 

 mulated experiences of the Johns Hopkins 

 laboratories, is presented to the public for the 

 first time. The number of new illustrations 

 is a feature of the work. Of the two hundred 

 and seventy-two illustrations about one half 

 are original. 



The author has departed radically from the 

 conventional arrangement of subject matter by 

 introducing as the second and third sections, 

 respectively, the subjects of ' The Central 

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 Professor Howell has always, both as a teacher 

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 first section of the volume, of all the sub- 

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 technique. These three chapter's, i. e., on 



