262 The American Naturalist [March, 



Elderberry root is found to be a deadly poison. Foul water is pro- 

 nounced to be a self purifier, because bacteria eat out vegetable matter 

 and then die of starvation. The hickory and the chestnut are proven 

 cousin— Germans. Weeds are useful, by forcing the cultivator to work 

 to aerate the soil. Illustrations of a curious maze, formed of yew 

 hedges at Hampton Court, pruning and keeping trees from insects, 

 chrysanthemum culture, and practical information on fruits and flow- 

 ers are among the topics treated. Sample copies may be had of the 

 publishers, Thomas Meehan & Sons, Germantown, Philadelphia. 



In the January Monist, of importance to students of evolution will 

 be the article on Germinal Selection, by the famous German biologist, 

 Prof. August Weismann, of Freiburg. In the theory of germinal selec- 

 tion, Prof. Weismann propounds a doctrine which rounds off and per- 

 fects, as he claims, the theories of Darwin and Wallace, and which 

 consists essentially in applying the principle of the struggle for life to 

 the minutest parts of organization, viz., to the germinal and determin- 

 ant particles generally. Weismann's article is a complete summary 

 of the present status of the discussions in evolutionary theory, and will 

 itself doubtless constitute one of the most important recent acquisitions 

 to biological science. 



Abnormal pleasures and pains are treated by Prof. Th. Ribot, who 

 applies to their explanation the pathological method, using diseases as 

 a means of analysis. His results as regards the pleasure which some 

 people take in pain are highly interesting. 



The fourth annual meeting of University Extension and other 

 students will be held in the four weeks beginning July 6, 1896, in the 

 buildings of the University of Pennsylvania. The Summer Meeting 

 combines the advantages of an ordinary summer school with the co- 

 operative feature which distinguishes conventions, or associations, in 

 which there are representatives of many universities and colleges. 



Professor E. Selenka, of Erlangen, has resigned his position in order 

 that he may make a scientific journey. He has been appointed Hon- 

 orary Professor of Zoology in Munich. His place at Erlangen is 

 temporarily filled by Dr. Albert Fleischmann. 



The Paris Academy of Science has recently elected the following 

 corresponding members : Dr. G. Retzius, of Stockholm, as successor to 

 Carl Vogt ; and Prof. R. Bergh, of Copenhagen, as successor to Huxley. 



Dr. F. Miescher, Professor of Physiology in the University of Basel, 

 died at Davos, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 1895, aged 51 years. Dr. Rudolf 

 Metzner, of Freiburg i B, has been appointed his successor. 



