NOVEMBER 13, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



731 



of such investigation. The author's conclu- 

 sion is that the ' central cells ' (Hauptzellen) of 

 the fundus- glands are certainly very closely 

 connected with the secretion of the gastric 

 juice. It is very probable that they secrete 

 pepsin, but they may also secrete the hydro- 

 chloric acid, though there is no good evi- 

 dence that they do. The cells of the pyloric 

 glands also probably secrete pepsin. The func- 

 tion of the ' parietal cells' (Belegzellen) of the 

 fundus-glands is not so well understood, but it 

 is probable that they also secrete pepsin. The 

 ' parietal cells ' of mammals are by no means 

 identical with the fundus-cells of lower Verte- 

 brates. In closing the discussion he says : "I 

 have emphasized the point that a certain func- 

 tion in one kind of cell does not exclude the 

 possibility of the same or a similar function in 

 another kind." In fact the whole discussion 

 only tends to show how much in the dark we 

 are as regards the actual functions of these 

 cells. 



It is impossible to take up the diflferent chap- 

 ters in detail, as they are so largely summaries 

 of the work of various investigators. 



Following the text appears a table of the 

 animals mentioned, arranged according to their 

 systematic position. The classification is in 

 part that followed by Claus in the fifth edition 

 of his ' Lehrbuch der Zoologie.' This table is 

 followed by a list of the same names arranged 

 alphabetically, their systematic position being 

 indicated by the name of the family, order, etc. 

 The next thirty pages are occupied by the liter- 

 ature, and a good index finishes the book. 

 Thus this part is complete in itself as a histol- 

 ogy of the vertebrate stomach. 



The volume comprises some 530 octavo pages. 

 In reading it one cannot fail to be impressed 

 with the patience of the author, nor to admire 

 the temper of a man who enters single-handed 

 on a subject of such magnitude. It is to be 

 hoped that the work may be carried to cornple- 

 tion, for it will constitute a most valuable aid 

 to future research. It is not a book for the 

 general reader, nor is it a text-book, but the 

 student and investigator will find in it a careful 

 resume of our present knowledge of the his- 

 tology of the vertebrate stomach. It is, in fact, 

 as the author has said, a key to the literature, 



and thanks are due to the man who is willing 

 to undertake the so often thankless task of com- 

 pilation necessary to such a work. 



C. M. Child. 



Univeesity op Chicago. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON ; 264TH 



MEETING. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24. 



Dr. Erwin F. Smith exhibited specimens of 

 Leuconostoc mesenteroides from a sugar house in 

 Louisiana. These were in the shape of fist- 

 large gelatinous aggregates. If the vats are 

 not sterilized at frequent intervals this organ- 

 ism multiplies very rapidly in the sugar cane 

 juice and causes much inconvenience and loss. 



Mr. Frederick V. Coville exhibited speci- 

 mens of the Ssematococcus which is the cause of 

 the so-called ' red snow, ' and also the seeds of 

 the Western water lily, Nymphsea polysepala. 

 These seeds, in spite of their small size, are an 

 important article of food of the Indians of 

 western Oregon and are extensively collected 

 in Klamath Lake. The seeds are dried and 

 parched in baskets by the use of heated stones. 



Mr. C. L. Pollard noted the addition of Ire- 

 sine paniculaia to the fauna of the district, 

 specimens having' been found on Plummer's 

 Island. 



Mr. B. E. Fernow exhibited a series of 

 shrubby and arborescent plants from Arizona, in 

 which many growing points and shoots are 

 changed into spines ; the series beginning with 

 Ceanothus and ending with Koeherlinia and the 

 rare Rolacantha emoryi showed, with the de- 

 crease in the amount and size of foliage, an in- 

 crease of the number and size of spines, the 

 latter two species consisting entirely of spines, 

 the leaves being reduced to early caducous 

 bracts. 



Mr. Albert F. Woods spoke of a plant 

 disease of the foliage of maples, caused by ' red 

 spiders ' and excessive atmospheric moisture. 



Dr. C. Hart Merriam described a ' New Fir 

 from Arizona,' which he named Abies arizonica. 

 It differs from its nearest relative, A. lasiocarpa, 

 in the character of the bark, which is a fine- 

 grained cork and in the shape of the cone 

 scales. 



Mr. Frederick V. Coville briefly noticed 



