Mat 8, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



757 



examination of these pages shows one who has 

 known something of the pore fungi that he 

 will have many new names to learn, since the 

 old genera, as Polyporus, Daedalea, Lenzites, 

 Trametes, etc., have been split up into new 

 ones. 



If there are any plants about whose nomen- 

 clature there has been no doubt, the common 

 alfalfa of the fields is one of them. We all 

 felt that we were on solid ground when we 

 wrote its name Medicago sativa of Linne, but 

 now comes C. S. Scofield, of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, who offers strong 

 reasons for abandoning this name. It ap- 

 pears that Tournefort in 1700 figured 

 " luserne " quite correctly under the name of 

 Medico,, and also a very different plant on 

 the same plate under the name of Medicago. 

 Linne made use of Tournefort's plate and de- 

 scriptions, at first (in the " Systema Naturae," 

 1735) accepting his names, but later (in the 

 " Species Plantarum," 1753) applying the 

 name Medicago to both plants in the plate. 

 It appears from this that Medicago must be 

 retained for the second plant on the plate {M. 

 radiata), and that the proper name of the 

 alfalfa (" luserne ") is Medica sativa (L.) 

 Mill. 



G. H. Powell, of the Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, has published (in Bulletin 123) 

 the results of his studies of the decay of 

 oranges while in transit from California. He 

 finds that it is principally due to a blue mold 

 (Penicillium digiiatum), although a part of it 

 is caused by P. glaucum. He finds, further, 

 that the fungus is incapable of penetrating 

 unless the skin has been injured in some man- 

 ner. Cooling the fruit before shipment and 

 the maintenance of a cool temperature in 

 transit tend to reduce the amount of decay. 

 The report is illustrated by nine full-page 

 plates, two of which are colored. 



Experiments by Dr. G. G. Hedgcock extend- 

 ing through five years seem (Bulletin 131, 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture) to prove that the disease of 

 the roots of the almond, apricot, blackberry, 

 cherry, peach, plum, prune and raspberry 



known as " crown gall " is essentially iden- 

 tical, and due to the same organism. Further- 

 more, it has been found possible to produce 

 (" with great difficulty ") a crown gall on the 

 apple, chestnut, walnut and rose by transfer 

 of the organisms from the galls on the first 

 named plants. The author says, further, 

 " these results show quite conclusively that 

 apple crown gall in its soft form is con- 

 tagious, but that in the hard form it is either 

 slightly or not at all contagious." 



Charles E. Bessey 

 The Univeksitt op Nebkaska 



HARVARD ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



The Harvard Anthropological Society cele- 

 brates its tenth anniversary in May of this 

 year. The club was founded in 1898 mainly 

 through the initiative of the late Dr. Erank 

 Russell and Mr. Walter S. Andrews. Its ob- 

 ject " is the promotion of interest in the study 

 of the natural history of man and of the his- 

 tory of human culture with special reference 

 to its origins and primitive forms and to the 

 general laws of its development." 



The society is composed of undergraduates 

 and graduates of Harvard University who are 

 taking or have taken courses offered by the 

 department of anthropology. The officers, 

 with the exception of the permanent secretary, 

 are elected from the student body. Meetings 

 open only to members of the club are held 

 every month during the college year, at which 

 time papers are presented and discussed. The 

 society thus furnishes a means of intercourse 

 between the older and younger men which is 

 not possible in any other way. 



During the first seven years of the history 

 of the organization two or more public lec- 

 tures were given under the auspices of the 

 society each year. A different policy has been 

 carried out during the last three years. Two 

 dinners have been held annually with a special 

 guest of honor who has delivered an address. 

 These occasions have proved most profitable 

 as well as enjoyable as many former members 

 of the club have returned. 



The society numbers among its honorary 

 members Professor E. W. Putnam, Miss Alice 

 Fletcher, Mr. C. P. Bowditch, Professor Franz 



