586 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 276., 



descriptions of bacterial species from many 

 widely scattered books and special monographs, 

 but the orderly arrangement of these descrip- 

 tions, many of them imperfect and fragmen- 

 tary, is a labor calculated to daunt any but 

 Teutonic patience. That the tasls has been ac- 

 complished in such a satisfactory fashion by 

 Professor Migula is matter for general congrat- 

 ulation. 



There doubtless exist differences of opinion 

 among bacteriologists as to how far systematists 

 should carry out the process of welding to- 

 gether descriptions of species. There can be 

 no question that many of the ' species' now 

 masquerading under diflferent titles are in 

 reality identical and should be grouped under 

 one name. On the other hand, it is equally 

 true that forms now classed as ' varieties' are 

 actually distinct and may be shown by future 

 investigators to be widely separated. Two 

 opposite tendencies are plainly visible among 

 bacteriologists concerned in work of this char- 

 acter — and all bacteriologists are sooner or 

 later brought face to face with the question of 

 the ' identity' of the forms with which they 

 are working : the tendency to magnify phys- 

 iological differences and erect into new species 

 or varieties those forms showing even slight 

 divergence, and the tendency to ignore minor 

 physiological characters and to include closely 

 allied organisms under one species or group- 

 name. Much more detailed study of the nat- 

 ural varieties of bacteria and of their plasticity 

 under artificial conditions is necessary, how- 

 ever, before the true path can be surely deter- 

 mined. 



The course pursued by Professor Migula in 

 this matter is likely to command general ap- 

 proval. It will probably be more useful at the 

 present stage of our knowledge to possess a 

 convenient and accurate record of all descrip- 

 tions by all writers than to have an elaborate 

 tabulation that has been subjected to too much 

 revision and consolidation. At the same time 

 it may be questioned whether it is necessary or 

 advisable to include in a work of the highest 

 standard, descriptions glaringly imperfect and 

 defective, so imperfect in fact that identifica- 

 tion and evaluation are not now and never can 

 be possible. The pages of the System cler Bakter- 



ien might well be pruned of much dead and 

 useless material of this nature. 



The permanent value of a text of this sort 

 can be thoroughly tested only by continual 

 practical use, and it would be a work of super- 

 erogation to seek for the minor sins of omis- 

 sion and commission which any work deal- 

 ing with bacterial classification must at present 

 necessarily contain. One regrettable, but per- 

 haps pardonable oversight only need be men- 

 tioned. The careful descriptions of a large 

 number of water bacteria by two American 

 bacteriologists, Wright (Memoirs National 

 Academy of Sciences, VII., 1895) and Kavenel 

 (Memoirs National Academy of Sciences, VIII., 

 1896) have evidently not come under the au- 

 thor's notice. Omissions of an important char- 

 acter are, however, surprisingly few and Pro- 

 fessor Migula's great treatise will long remain 

 the standard work in systematic bacteriology. 

 Edwin O. Jordan. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 

 Bird Lore for April opens with a description 

 of 'A New Camera for Bird Photographers,' by 

 the designer, John Kowley. ' Photographing a 

 Kobin ' is described by A. L. Princehorn and 

 ' How a Marsh Hawk Grows ' is told by P. B. 

 Peabody. In an article on ' The Egret Hunters 

 of Venezuela,' George K. Cherrie shows the 

 ' egret farms ' of which we have heard are 

 purely mythical and that the gathering of shed 

 egret feathers is simply an incident in the work 

 of the plume hunters. Marion E. Hubbard de- 

 scribes ' Bird Work at Wellesley College ' and 

 the balance of the number is given over to notes, 

 correspondence, book reviews and reports of 

 Audubon Department. The editor discusses 

 the amendment to the law designed to protect 

 non-game birds. 



The Plant World for March begins with an 

 amusing article on ' Popular Ignorance con- 

 cerning Botany and Botanists,' by Aven Nelson 

 T. H. Kearney discourses ' Concerning Saxi- 

 frages.' A. M. Curtiss tells of 'The Water 

 Hyacinth in Florida. ' A. Wetzstein of ' The 

 Velvet Dogbane in Ohio,' and L. H. Pammel of 

 ' The Twin-Leaf {Jeffersonia diphylla) in Iowa.' 

 Under ' Plant Juices and their Commercial 



