374 



SCIENGE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 349. 



dition is made to our knowledge of a critical 

 phylogenetic stage of the vertebrate nervous 

 system. The supporting elements have been 

 subjected to the same careful study. The phy- 

 logenetic point of view has been before the 

 author throughout, and interesting general 

 conclusions are suggested in connection with 

 the various encephalic regions, notably, the 

 problems of nerve components, the phylogeny 

 of the cerebelltim, Reissner's fiber and its asso- 

 ciated mechanism for direct motor reflexes be- 

 tween the optic tectum and the body muscula- 

 ture, and the forebrain. 



The Popular Science Monthly for September 

 has for frontispiece a portrait of Charles Sedg- 

 wick Minot, President of the American Asso- 

 ciation, and a brief sketch of his life is to be 

 found in 'The Progress of Science.' In the 

 first article, ' The Greatest Biological Station 

 in the World,' W. A. Herdman describes the 

 Naples Station and its work in a most inter- 

 esting manner, and no one could be found 

 better capable of speaking authoritatively on 

 the subject of zoological stations. C. K. Ed- 

 munds gives a sketch of 'Henry Cavendish,' 

 that remarkable character known as the New- 

 ton of Chemistry, and Havelock Ellis gives the 

 summary and conclusions of the ' Study of 

 British Genius,' leaning towards Aristotle's dic- 

 tum that ' no great genius is without some 

 mixture of insanity.' C. B. Davenport pre- 

 sents a paper on the ' Statistical Study of Evo- 

 lution,' the quantitative method in scientific 

 study being one to which he has given marked 

 attention. Robert Koch's address before the 

 British Congress on Tuberculosis on ' The 

 Combating of Tuberculosis ' is not only very 

 interesting but very encouraging in exhibiting 

 the methods by which consumption may be 

 checked. John T. DuflBeld describes the various 

 steps in ' The Discovery of the Law of Gravita- 

 tion,' and Byron D. Halstead discusses ' Plants 

 as Water Carriei's ' and, .after noting the 

 mechanism by which this is performed, con- 

 cludes that back of this is a vital force that has 

 not been reduced to a physical or chemical 

 basis. Edwin O. Jordan considers ' The Sol- 

 uble Ferments or Enzymes,' stating that they 

 simply iofluence the rate of change in any sub- 

 stance and do not cause the change itself. In 



' The Progress of Science ' is a most interesting 

 note on Vitrified Silica. 



The American Naturalist for August begins 

 with a detailed description of ' The Texan 

 KcEnenia,' by Augusta Rucker, who shows this 

 peculiar arachnid to be distinct from the 

 Sicilian species and names it K. wheeleri. Out- 

 ram Bangs gives an account of ' Mammals Col- 

 lected in San Miguel Island, Panama, by W. W. 

 Brown, Jr.,' giving a list of twelve species, six 

 of which are new and here named and described. 

 Gary N. Calkins tells of ' Some Protozoa of 

 especial Interest from Van Cortlandt Park,' 

 giving a considerable amount of information re- 

 garding their habits, and Fi'ank C. Baker dis- 

 cusses ' The.Molluscan Fauna of the Genesee 

 River,' showing the influence upon this of the 

 falls of the Genesee at Rochester. Harold S. 

 Conant describes 'The Conchometer,' a simple 

 instrument for measuring the apical angle and 

 length of gasteropod shells. The sixteenth part 

 of ' Synopses of North American Invertebrates ' 

 treats of the Phalangidee and is by Nathan 

 Banks, and H. L. Osborn presents some 'Varia- 

 tion Notes.' 



The Plant World for July contains, besides a 

 number of notes and short articles, ' The Drag- 

 on Tree of Orotava,' by Alice Carter Cook, 

 with a fine plate of one of these curious trees, 

 supposed to be 4,000 years old, at Teneriffe ; 

 'Our Pufi"balls,' by C. L. Shear; 'A March 

 Day's Flowers,' by Charles E. Jenney, and a 

 biographical sketch of ' Thomas Conrad Porter,* 

 by A. A. Heller. The supplement, ' The Fam- 

 ilies of Flowering Plants,' by Charles Louis 

 Pollard, discusses various families of the Ger- 

 minales. 



The Museum Journal (of Great Britain) for Aug- 

 ust contains a report of the Edinburgh meeting 

 of the Museums Association and prints one of 

 the papers read there, on ' The Smallest 

 Museum,' by Kate M. Hall. The other papers 

 presented will appear later. The announcement 

 is made of ' The Gift of the Horniman Museum 

 to the London County Council.' The balance of 

 the number is occupied with notes from various 

 museums. 



A NEW journal, entitled Beitrdge zur Chem- 

 ischen Physiologie u. PatholOgie, has been estab- 



{ 



