Apbil 28, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



671 



Address: "The Eelation of the Soil to Plants," 



H. C. Cowles. 



SATURDAY, 2:00 P.M. — Botany Building 

 ' ' A Preliminary List of the Ants of Illinois, ' ' M. 



C. Tanquary. 

 ' ' The Channahon and Essex Limestone, " T. E. 



' ' Occurrence of Glceotcenium in Illinois, " E. N. 



Transeau. 

 "Ecological Studies of the Prairie and Forest of 



lUinois, " C. C. Adams. 

 "A Handbook for Students of Animal Ecology," 



0. C. Adams. 

 " Eeproduction by Layering in the Balsam Fir 



and other Conifers" (lantern), W. S. Cooper. 

 "Evaporation and Plant Succession on the Sand 



Dunes of Lake Michigan" (lantern), George 



r>. Fuller. 

 "Structure of Adult Cycad Stem" (lantern), C. 



J. Chamberlain. 

 "An American Lepidostrobus " (lantern), John 



M. Coulter and W. J. G. Land. 



Following the presidential address, a social 

 hour was enjoyed in Hutchinson Hall. The social 

 possibilities of the meetings were also taken ad- 

 vantage of during the noon-day limcheons served 

 in the men's commons. 



Frank C. Baker, 



Secretary 



THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF "WASHINGTON 



The 482d regular meeting of the society was 

 held March 18, 1911, with President David White 

 in the chair. 



Under the heading ' ' Brief Notes, " CD. Marsh 

 called attention to a recent paper on the ' ' Geo- 

 graphic Distribution of Diatomes, " by Tollinger, 

 published m Zoologische Jahrbiicher, Jena. The 

 paper is chiefly remarkable for its completeness. 

 A separate map of the distribution of each species 

 is given. 



The following communications were presented: 

 Baising Trailing Arbutus from the Seed: Fred- 

 erick V. COVILLE. 



A brief account of scientific phases of the ex- 

 periments, the results of which were outlined, ap- 

 pears elsewhere in Science. The speaker exhib- 

 ited a number of pots showing magnificent speci- 

 mens produced from the seed and grown in the 



Notes on Java Natural Sistory and Salt Makers 

 of Tjiliara, Java: William Palmer. 

 This was a narrative of experiences and observa- 

 tions made during a somewhat lengthy collecting 



trip to Java in 1909 and 1910. It included ob- 

 servations on the physical features of the island, 

 the vegetation, the inhabitants, their mode of life 

 and industries, the birds, mammals and other 

 animals. The speaker closed with an account of 

 his visit to the salt-makers of Tjihara. 



D. E. Lantz, 

 Becording Secretary 



the botanical society op "WASHINGTON 



The 72d regular meeting was held at the Cosmos 

 Club, Tuesday, April 4, 1911, at eight o'clock p.m. 

 Both president and vice-president being absent. 

 Dr. A. Mann was chosen chairman pro tern. 

 Thirty members were in attendance. 



The following papers were read: 

 The Study of Soil Organisms: Dr. N. A. Cobb. 

 Notes on some of the Edible Aroids: R. A. Young. 



The edible aroids are of great importance in the 

 tropics, since they form a readily available source 

 of starch food. Practically all desirable varieties 

 must be referred to the genera Xanthosoma and 

 Colocasia, very few of those belonging to the genus 

 Alocasia having any possible use. Although the 

 three genera can be distinguished with little diffi- 

 culty the exact botanical nomenclature of the sev- 

 eral varieties, especially those of the genera Xan- 

 thosoma and Colocasia, is in general uncertain. 



The acrid properties of the aroids, due to the 

 presence of raphides composed of calcium oxalate 

 in their tissues, are very pronounced. However, 

 the tubers of many forms are non-acrid, and in 

 C. gigantea Hooker the entire plant is non-acrid. 

 A peculiarity of the older leaves of this species is 

 the development on the ventral surface of sharply 

 defined, irregular, dark green discs on either side 

 of the midrib. 



When the corms of the aroids are cooked a violet 

 color develops, the source of which is at present 

 unexplained. 

 Inheritance of Aleurone Color in Corn Hybrids: 



G. N. Collins. 



This paper reported the behavior of the aleurone 

 color in a series of hybrids between diverse types 

 of maize. The aleurone color of com, while of no 

 practical importance, affords exceptional oppor- 

 tunities for studies of inheritance. Being a part 

 of the endosperm the characters of the aleurone 

 cells are subject to xenia, that is, they develop 

 from the union of the second nucleus of the pollen 

 tube and the endosperm nucleus and may be looked 

 upon as belonging to the same generation as the 

 embryo. Ordinarily in tracing the behavior of 



