238 Scientific Intelligence. 



a high temperature, and oxygen is eliminated. Further, from this 

 dissociation, carbon monoxide results, and is united to the chloro- 

 phyll, where it at once takes up a molecule of water, forming 

 formic aldehyd. In the presence of the free alkalies of the assimi- 

 lating cells, this primary product can pass at once into the form 

 of sugar. Bokorny has contrived to exclude carbonic acid from 

 the assimilating cells of fyrirogyra, providing in place of this gas 

 formic aldehyde, methylaldehyde, methyl-alcohol, and, as others 

 had done before him, glycerin. He found that formic aldehyde 

 killed the protoplasm, but he does not regard this as vitiating the 

 hypothesis of Baeyer, since it is possible that this substance is in 

 normal assimilation converted at once into a carbohydrate. 

 With the other substances employed he was moderately success- 

 ful, and states that from them, even with complete exclusion of 

 carbonic acid, the green cells of a plant can produce starch. 



G. L. G. 



3. Improvement in the " races " of the Sugar Beet. — C. Viol- 

 lette and F. Desprez (Comptes rendus, 1 Jan., 1889) have car- 

 ried on a very interesting series of experiments in regard to the 

 Sugar Beet which may be interpreted as indicating that still 

 greater improvement in this useful plant may be reasonably 

 looked for. They state that the manufacturers of sugar have 

 endeavored to use the earlier varieties although the content of 

 sugar is so much smaller, because in this way they have been able 

 to cover a longer time in the manufacture, taking the poor early 

 varieties first, employing some of wretched quality. But the 

 legislation of 1884 compelled the manufacturers to use better 

 varieties, and the only ones at their command were late, coming 

 into maturity during the first fifteen days of October, whereas 

 the earlier ones ripened off at the beginning of September. 



The experiments were carried on at Cappelle (Nord) and con- 

 sisted of careful selection of rich varieties which showed any 

 tendency to hasten maturity. The results are surprising. Where- 

 as the early varieties formerly used contained from 9 to 11*26 per 

 cent, of sugar, the new early varieties or, rather, true races, yield 

 from 14 to 16 per cent. Thus the manufacturers have now at 

 their command early races (that is, varieties which come true to 

 seed) which are very rich, and they have also the rich races which 

 mature later, and which furnish from 13*8 — 16*5 per cent. 



G. L. G. 



4. The primordial leaves of Abietineaz. — Daguillon (Comptes 

 Rendus, 14 Jan., 1889) points out the fact that the primordial 

 leaves (that is the leaves intermediate between the cotyledons 

 and the adult leaves) of AbietineaB are pretty constant in form. 

 In some instances, as for example in the genus Pinus, no intermediate 

 steps are to be seen, but in some others various transitional shapes 

 are discernible. The passage from one to the other is character- 

 ized by a progressive development of the hypodermis and of the 

 Sclerenchyma adjacent to the fibro-ligneous bundle. In certain 

 cases there is a division of the central nerve into two bundles 



