MAECH 26, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



5m 



in the cell-cytoplasm and karyoplasm rather 

 than in the glycogen as a substance by itself. 

 It seems to the writer that the physiologist 

 must demand very conclusive evidence before 

 he can accept the view that "glycogen plays 

 the part of a carrier to the tissues; that it con- 

 tributes somewhat to the building up without 

 losing its own molecular identity; that it is 

 present at the formation of tissues and employed 

 therein without becoming part of them." 



In conclusion, it must be stated that the 

 volume contains a record of most careful obser- 

 vations and that it is replete with interesting 

 and important facts bearing upon the distribu- 

 tion of glycogen in embryonic tissues. Further, 

 due weight must be given to Dr. Creighton's 

 conclusions, although, as already stated, it 

 appears to the writer that physiologists will 

 have some difficulty in accepting them in their 

 entirety. E. H. Chittenden. 



Yale Univeesity. 



Analytic keys to the genera and species of North 

 American Mosses. By C. E. Baenes. Ee- 

 vised and extended by F. D. Heald, with 

 the cooperation of the author. Bull. Univ. 

 Wis. Sci. ser. I., 5, pp. 157-368, 1897. 

 This bulletin is the 3d edition of analytical 

 keys of mosses published by the author. The 

 first edition, published in 1886, included only 

 the genera recognized in Lesquereux and James' 

 Manual. To this was added in 1890 keys to 

 the species, including descriptions of those 

 published since the issue of the Manual. Dur- 

 ing the past decade there has been great activity 

 in the study of North American mosses, which 

 is shown in the description of 603 species and 

 varieties since the publication of the Manual 

 and up to January 1, 1896. The present bulle- 

 tin includes besides the analytical keys descrip- 

 tive of these 603 species and varieties as an 

 appendix. 



As a basis for the nomenclature used in the 

 work the author has followed Renauld and Car- 

 dot's Musci Americse Septentrionalis, preferring 

 to do this rather than make new combinations 

 which would necessitate the citation of the 

 ' Analytical Keys ' in future taxonomic work. 

 The former keys have been very useful to bry- 

 ologists in this country, and students of the 



mosses have been further placed in debt to the 

 author by this comprehensive revision of the 

 work. Geo. F. Atkinson. 



CoENELL Univeesity. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 

 JOtJENAL OP GEOLOGY, FEBEUAEY-MAECH, 1897. 



Professor Geikie''s Classification of the North 

 European Glacial Deposits: By K. Keilhack. 

 The classification proposed in this Journal by 

 Professor James Geikie, in which six glacial 

 epochs separated by five interglacial epochs 

 are recognized, is criticised. In its place is 

 offered an unofficial announcement of the re- 

 sults of the detailed mapping carried on by the 

 Eoyal Prussian Geological Survey. 



The Average Specific Gravity of Meteorites : By 

 O. C. Faeeington. Account is taken of both 

 the weight and the specific gravity of 142 speci- 

 mens which give an average of 3.69. 



Drift Phenomena in the Vicinity of Devil's Lake 

 and Baraboo, Wisconsin : By E. D. Salisbuey 

 and W. W. Atwood. The region studied is 

 on the eastern edge of the Driftless Area where 

 the Wisconsin ice pushed out over certain high 

 quartzite ridges. The rough topography (900- 

 1600 A. D.) lead to certain exceptional phe- 

 nomena in connection with the drift border. 

 The ice mounted the high ridges but halted on 

 the summits in a most peculiar manner. The 

 edge of the ice is marked by a moraine of the char- 

 acter known as ' Endmorane ' by the Germans. 

 Where it crossed the ' Devil's Nose ' the slope 

 of the upper surface of the edge of the ice was 

 measured and found to be about 320 feet per 

 mile. This measurement has the exceptional 

 interest of being the first recorded measurement 

 at the extreme margin of the ice. Skillett 

 creek was diverted by the filling up of its lower 

 course by the overwash; the Baraboo was 

 dammed and a temporary lake was formed, 

 and on the east quartzite bluff" a smaller lake 

 was formed which finally became extinct by 

 the complete filling up of its basin. 



Comparison of the Carboniferous and Permian 

 Formation of Nebraska and Kansas, IL: By 

 Chaeles S. Peossee. A continuation of the 

 author's paper in the preceding number of the 

 Journal. The Nebraska City section is quite 



