1 882.] Zoology. 501 



tanked Gazette, concludes that the Californian willow, Salix 

 Coulteri Anders, is "nearly allied to— if not identical with "—5. 

 sitchensis Sanson, which, like 5. Coulteri,he now finds to have but 

 one stamen under each scale / S. Coulteri he regards as probably 

 nothing more than "an extravagant autumnal growth of S; sit- 

 chensis" In the same journal Dr. Farlow notices the injury to 



the vine in Europe and Algiers caused by the American grape 

 mildew ( Peronospora vilicola B. & C). In moist regions it ap- 

 pears to be very injurious, even approaching the Phylloxera in 

 some cases. Lime, antiseptic fluids, and other applications, failed 

 to check the parasitic growths. Burning the leaves to destroy 



the oospores is recommended. Dr. R. E. Kunze's paper on 



" The Germination and Vitality of Seeds," read before the Torrey 

 Botanical Club, contains a mass of valuable information collected 

 from many sources. Copies may be obtained of N. L. Britton, 



School of Mines, New York city, for fifty cents each. Among 



the valuable foreign botanical journals, which American students 

 may profitably consult, the ArcJnva Pctaniqucs du Nord de la 

 France, must be mentioned. Lotar's memoir on the comparative 

 anatomy of the vegetative organs of the Cucurbitaceie is well 



worth careful reading. Dr. W. P. Wilson has published a 



paper on " The Cause of the Excretion of Water on the Surface 

 of Nectaries," in which he shows it to be due not to infernal 

 pressure, as has generally been assumed, but to osmotic action. 

 - — -Dr. W. A. Kellerman's paper, Entwickelungsgcschichte dcr 

 Bliithe von Gnnnera chilaish Lam., is a valuable contribution to 

 our knowledge of these curious plants. Four plates accompany 

 the paper. 



ZOOLOGY. 

 The Nature of Life — This is a tempting problem; it has 

 attracted the attention of the thoughtful of th past, md is attract- 

 ing the attention of the thoughtful of the present, yet in spite of 

 untiring efforts, in spite of ingenious arguments, it is still un- 

 solved. Is it insolvable ? This again is a question not to be an- 

 swered hastily, either in the negative or the affirmative, since so 

 much that was once thought insolvable has been solved; while 

 so much that was supposed to be solved (by revelation or author- 

 ity) has proved to be still unknown. As indices which may point 

 towards a solution, we give a short abstract of three papers that 

 nave lately appeared. 



., D - Monnier and C. Vogt ( Comptcs Reudus, Jan. 12, 1S82) state 

 that by the joint action of two salts forming by double decompo- 

 sition one or two insolul need cellules, tubes and 

 performs assumed by organic life. The liquid in which this 

 akes place may be of organic or semi-organic nature, or abso- 

 ;:";>' inorganic, but one of the salts must be dissolved in the 

 lc luid, while the other is present in a solid form. Saccharate of 



