DECEMBER 24, 1897.] 
have been misled, resulting in the statement 
that ‘the living cells of the wood do not take 
part in the water conduction.’ The absurdity 
of this conclusion, philosophically apparent, can 
easily be demonstrated by experiment. While 
as a rule the unfortunate lack of knowledge of 
the physiology of trees is everywhere acknowl- 
edged, it appears to us that with regard to this 
most difficult problem the writer allows himself 
to become over-sanguine when he thinks that 
Dixon and Joly, and Askenay have solved it, 
however much they may have done to bring the 
matter under the scrutiny and explanation of 
physical laws and physical forces. 
A chapter on the ‘ Derivation and Significance 
of the Mineral Food Elements in Trees’ is fol- 
lowed by one on the ‘Transformation and 
Transmission of Food Materials in the Tree,’ 
and a chapter on ‘Something about Flowering, 
Fruiting and Germination’ ends the whole 
somewhat lamely, the necessity of space limita- 
tion working disadvantageously in this chapter. 
The professors and students of forestry in 
this country, which are beginning to be called 
for by our necessities, will find a most con- 
venient compendium of tree physiology in this 
handbook. 
B. E. FErRNow. 
Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Septalnectarien. Von 
J. SCHNIEWIND-THIES. Jena, G. Fischer. 
1897. Mit 12 lithographischen Tafeln. Pp.87. 
As is well known, ovarial nectaries are con- 
fined to the Monocotyledons, occurring in the 
Liliifloreze and in the Scitaminez. The au- 
thoress has made a comprehensive and thorough 
investigation of these, as the result of which she 
distinguishes seven different types of nectaries, 
the simplest of which occur in those genera 
which stand lowest in the scale of development. 
The development of the complex out of simpler 
types can be followed through a series of forms 
which show strikingly how the development of 
the vascular bundle system has gone hand in 
hand with that of the nectary and how the 
secreting power of the cells has increased in 
the more complex forms. 
In the simplest cases the secretion of nectar 
takes place all over the surface of the ovary. 
Next we find the nectaries confined to lines 
SCIENCE. 
963 
which correspond to the septa and more or less 
depressed in clefts and furrows. In the higher 
types we find the nectaries in the interior of 
the ovary, always occurring in the septa and 
discharging their secretions by means of an open- 
ing which reaches the surface. These internal 
nectaries are often of complicated structure and 
may or may not be accompanied by nectaries 
located on the surface. 
The structure of septal nectaries was investi- 
gated in a large number of genera belonging to 
the Liliaceze, Amaryllidacez, Iridaceze, Musa- 
ce, Zingiberacez, Cannacez, Marantaceze and 
Bromeliacez. 
The behavior of nucleus and cytoplasm in 
the secreting cells was also investigated. Dur- 
ing the development of the ovary the secreting 
cells gradually become differentiated from the 
ordinary parenchyma cells; their cytoplasm 
becomes denser and they are very poor in starch, 
while the parenchyma cells contain an abun- 
dance of it. The nuclei of the secreting cells 
increase in size and become much richer in 
chromatin than the nuclei of the parenchyma 
cells; the number of nucleoli often increases. 
As soon as the differentiation of the tissues of 
the ovary is complete the secreting cells give a 
strong reaction with Fehling’s solution. Their 
nuclei in many cases partially lose their walls 
and assume various constricted, branched and 
other irregular shapes. The nucleoli diminish 
in number, size and staining power, except in 
certain cases, where the reverse takes place. 
During the period of their greatest functional 
activity the secreting cells use up starch stored 
in the neighboring parenchyma cells. Their 
cytoplasm gradually diminishes and often dis- 
appears completely. The irregular nuclei be- 
come still more irregular and often lose their 
walls entirely. In most cases the chromatin 
and nucleoli are more or less completely dis- 
solved, but sometimes the chromatin remains 
intact. The colored plates illustrating changes 
in cell-structure are of much value, but leave 
much to be desired in finer details. Some ex- 
periments made by the author seem to show 
that a diastatic ferment is present in the nec- 
tary and its secretions. 
The comprehensive and thorough investiga- 
tions of Frau Schniewind-Thies constitute an 
