1895.] Vegetable Physiology. 585 
blooded animals were subjected to its effects. Per kilo of the animals ex- 
perimented upon 0.02-0.04 grams caused severe poisoning and 0.16-0.20 
grams caused death. This is not the only poisonous cactus. Four other 
- species of Anhalonium (Echinocactus) were examined and found to be 
poisonous in varying degrees. Of the genus Mammillaria five species 
were examined, one of which (M. uberiformis) is noxious. More sur- 
prising still, the juice of Rhipsalis conferta was also found to be poison- ; 
ous to cold blooded animals. The author thinks that other species of 
cacti will turn out to be poisonous, and expresses the hope that some 
of the alkaloids may be of service in medicine. These notes are from 
Ber. d. d. bot. Gesellschaft, XII, 9, pp. 283-290. Another paper by the 
same author giving the toxicological, chemical and ecrystallographical 
data in detail may be found in Archiv f. ex. Path. u. Pharmak., Bd., 
34, 1894.—Erwin F. SMITE. ; 
Rothert on Heliotropism.—The last number of Cohn’s Beiträge 
(No. 1, Bd. VII, pp. VII, 212) is wholly given up to a paper on 
Heliotropism by Dr. W. Rothert, privat docent of the University of 
Kazan. Many experiments were performed with monocotyledonous 
and dicotyledonous seedlings, leaf-blades, petioles and stems, and some 
interesting results were obtained which it may be possible to abstract 
hereafter. Among other things he concludes that Wiesner’s “ Zug- 
wachstum ” has no foundation in fact. There are no plates, but many 
simple figures illustrating curvatures are introduced into the text. The 
work was done in Leipsic in Dr. Pfeffer’s laboratory —Erwin F’.Smiru. 
Austro-German Views on Botanical Nomenclature.—At 
the 66th meeting of the German Naturalists and Physicians held in 
Vienna in September, 1894, the section of Systematic Botany passed 
the following resolutions: 
(1) The rule that a name once used but subsequently invalid shall 
never again be used is to be recommended for future observance, but 
retroactive power (once a synonym always a synonym) shall not be 
given to this rule, and names which have been changed for this reason 
shall be rejected. 
(2) As a rule, the original species name is to be retained when a spe- 
cies is removed from the original genus to another. 
(3) In questions of priority the year 1753 shall be retained as the 
point of departure both for names of species and genera. 
(4) In the naming of species the principle of priority should govern, 
but a sure name shall not be thrust aside for a doubtful one. 
