1880. ] Scientific News. 695 
complete account of the present state of our knowledge of infec- 
tion-fungi. Part 11 is devoted to carnivorous plants, and is even 
more generally interesting perhaps than the first. The work is 
profusely illustrated with the author’s original drawings. Alto- 
ether it is sure to form a very welcome and valuable addition to 
botanical literature —Nature. 
— Some new experiments with regard to the influence of electric- 
ity on Bacteria have been published by Prof. Cohn, who adopted 
the method of sowing with Bacteria a sterilized mineral nutritive 
Solution, subjecting them to electric currents, and noting the 
results, A Marie-Davy flask-element he finds to exert (according 
to strength of current) either no influence on the increase of 
Bacteria, or merely a retardative influence. On the other hand, 
the current from two powerful elements sterilized the nutritive 
solution completely at the positive pole in twelve to twenty- 
four hours, so that afterwards the Bacteria introduced did not 
increase. At the negative pole the action was weaker, the liquid 
not completely sterilized, At neither of the poles were the Bac- 
teria killed, and when brought into another nutritive liquid they 
developed normally ; on the other hand, yeast cells and mycelium 
fungus brought into the liquid that was sterile for Bacteria 
increased plentifully at the positive pole. A battery of five 
strong elements killed the Bacteria distributed in the liquid within 
twenty-four hours, and sterilized the liquid of both poles —Z£x- 
glish Mechanic. i 
— The Eleventh Annual Report of the American Museum of 
Natural History in the Central Park, New York, states that the 
institution is now entirely out of debt, the members of the Board 
of Trustees having subscribed $27,250 to cover the indebtedness, 
which with the donations of other friends of the museum, leaves 
a small balance in the treasury. The city paid during the year, 
Over $10,000 towards the maintenance of the museum. Valu 
and costly additions in zoology, geology and anthropology have 
been made, while important additions have been made to the 
libraries deposited for safe keeping. Students from a number 
of institutions visit the libraries and collections; besides this 
efforts will be made to render the museum a direct benefit to the 
teachers and pupils of the public schools. We are glad to watch 
the development of this great and growing museum, and hope it 
will contribute still more decidedly to the advancement as well as 
the diffusion of science in New York, and be a means of rational 
€njoyment to the citizens. 
oe Me. E Whymper is reported to have successfully accom- 
Plished the ascent of Chimborazo, the loftiest mountain in the 
Cordilleras of Ecuador. He took ten days in getting from the 
Rio Bamba two-thirds of the way up to the summit, and the 
