958 The American Naturalist. [October, 
from their mouths the depth of the valleys, below the surface of the 
sea, sometimes did not exceed from 1,200 to 1,800 feet, but that be- 
yond there was a greater increase of depth, within the last few leagues. 
In the fiords of Norway, merging into rapidly-contracting valleys, or 
headed by great vertical walls, hundreds of feet in height, may be seen 
the counterpart of the coast of the American continent just preceding 
the Plistocene period. 
BOTANY. 
Botany at the Indianapolis Meetings. —In the several meet- 
ings held in Indianapolis in August, including the American Associa- 
tion for the Advancement of Science, the Botanical Club, and the 
Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science, there were many 
good papers on botanical subjects ; in fact, it may be said that the 
average rank of the papers was considerably higher than in previous 
years. In the sessions of the Society for the Promotion of Agricul- 
tural Science the following botanical papers were read : 
1. Preliminary Note on the Rotting of the Potato, by T. J. Bur- 
RILL; detailing experiments which show that in many cases, at least, 
the actual cause of the rotting is a Bacterium morphologically similar 
to B. termo, but differing from that species in its deportment towards 
nutrient media. 
2. The Rots of the Sweet Potato, by B. D. HarsTED ; indicating 
that there are four or five apparently distinct kinds of rots, due to the 
attacks of as many species of fungi. 
3. Some Fungous Root Diseases, by L. H. PAMMEL ; referring mainly 
to the cotton and sunflower plants. 
4. The “Scab” of Wheat-Heads, by C. M. WEED; describing a 
disease of wheat which appears to be due to Fusisporium culmorum. 
5. Some Recent Observations on the Black-Rot of the Grape, by B. 
T. GarLoway; detailing the results of éxperiments in inoculating the 
grape and Virginia creeper with ascospores, pycnidiospores, etc., of 
Phyllosticta. 
6. A Comparative Test of Some of the Copper Preparations in the 
Treatment of Black-Rot of Grapes, by B. T. Garrowav; showing 
that by the use of such solutions the disease may be greatly reduced. 
7. Biological Factors in the Nutrition of Plants, by M. MILES; 
referring to the róle of micro-organisms in plant nutrition, and giving 
the results of experiments upon “clover tubercles.” 
