122 Address. [Feb. 



Echinoderms. — In the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, Professor 

 F. J. Bell gives a " Report on a collection of Echinoderma made at Tuti- 

 corin, Madras," by Mr. E. Thurston, Director of the Madras Museum. 



In the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Dr. M. Duncan has 

 a valuable paper on " the anatomy of the Temnopleuridce, a family of 

 regular Echinoidea. 



Bhizopods. — In a paper in the latter journal on the structure and 

 affinities of the Genus Parheria, Dr. H. A. Nicholson states, and promises 

 in a future paper to show, that the genus Syringosphcera, of Duncan, is a 

 Hydrocoralline nearly related to the recent genera Allopora and Spora- 

 dopora. Dr. Th. Sfcuder, of Berne, describes some new species of the 

 Alyconarian genus Spongodes. Mr. H. J. Carter contributes a descrip- 

 tion of a large variety of Orbitolites Mantelli, Cart., from the Irrawaddy, 

 also papers " on the Foraminiferal genus Orbitoides of d'Orbigny ;" " on 

 the organic and inorganic changes of Parheria,'" and other papers of in- 

 terest. 



Bacteriology. 



The forthcoming number of the " Scientific Memoirs by Medical 

 officers of the Army in India " contains an interesting paper in which 

 Dr. Douglas Cunningham deals with the special work relating to cholera 

 carried out in the Laboratory attached to the office of the Sanitary 

 Commissioner with the Government of India, and the conclusions arrived 

 at in it, as the result of experimental investigation of the behaviour of 

 comma bacilli under various circumstances, are that, even if it be granted 

 that the bacilli really are the cause of cholera, they cannot be regarded 

 as in themselves efficient causes for the occurrence of epidemic diffusion 

 of the disease, and that the really important factors securing this must 

 be in special conditions of locality. The practical importance of this in 

 relation to the question of Quarantine versus Local Sanitary Improve- 

 ment is self-evident. 



In connection with this important subject mention may be made of 

 a paper entitled " an enquiry into the causation of Asiatic Cholera," 

 communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh by Drs. McLeod and 

 Miller, both of Shanghai, in which the authors, after a series of careful 

 experiments, arrive at the conclusion that there is strong evidence for 

 regarding the comma bacillus of Koch as the cause of Asiatic Cholera. 



Botany. 

 In systematic Botany, the chief Indian publication of the year has 

 been the second and final part of Dr. George King's exhaustive " Mono- 



