206 General Notes. [ March, 
* turpentine and benzol, but insoluble in water and in a solution of 
sodium chloride. It becomes gradually oxidized on exposure to 
an apee crystalline resinous substance. It is probably an 
ethereal oi an invariable accompaniment of the coloring sub- 
stance of cloraphs ii, a even more universally distributed than 
starch or oil. It has not yet been detected in those plants which 
do not contain true green chlorophyll, such as the Phycochroma- 
cee, Diatomacee, Fucacez and Floridee. Starch and oil appear 
to be reserve substances produced by the oxidation of the hypo- 
chlorin caused by light, it being the most readily oxidizable con- 
stituent of the cell, more so even than chlorophyll itself. 
That the hypochlorin—present in variable quantity in every 
chlorophyll grain under normal circumstances—is subject to con- 
tinual increase and decrease, may be proved without difficulty. 
All comparative observations on chlorophyll grains in younger 
and in older conditions, point unmistakably to the conclusion 
that the collection and increase of the starch enclosed in the 
ground substance of the chlorophyll, goes on pari passu with a 
decrease of the hypochlorin. In dark, the hypochlorin, which 
does not take any direct part in the transport of food materials, 
is More permanent than starch; and this fact again is in agree- 
ment with the conclusion that its transformation in the cell into 
more highly oxidized bodies i is hindered by the increased respira- 
tion in light. 
n the facts here detailed, and the conclusions derived from 
them, Dr. Pringsheim believes that an entirely new light is thrown 
on the cause of the well-known fact that assimilation takes place 
only in those cells of the plant which contain chlorophyll. This 
substance acts universally as a moderator of respiration by its 
absorptive influence on light, and hence allows the opposite phe- 
nomena of respiration and elimination of carbon dioxide to go on 
in those cells which contain it. A more detailed account of the 
experiments. and results is promised by the author in a future 
paper.—Alfred W. Bennett. 
zobni. 1 
BUNDLES OF SNAKES.—The statements made by Humboldt as 
to the piles of snakes he saw in Guiana, can be verified here in 
our northern woods and swamps. I personally had the pleasure 
of observing it twice, both times very early in spring, and in loca- 
tions which could be called wildernesses. I first saw such a bun- oe 
dle of snakes in the neighborhood of Ilchester, Howard Co., Md., 
on the stony bank of the Patapsco river, heaped together ona 
rock and between big stones. It was a very warm and sunny © 
location, whére a human being would scarcely disturb them. I 
reasoned that the warmth and silence of that secluded place 
£ The gw alae of Ornithology and Mammalogy are conducted by Dr. ELLIOTT a 
Cougs, U. S. A Le 
