138 
NOTES AND NEWS. 
THE death of Professor Ercolani on Nov. 16, 1883, 
at Bologna, inflicts a severe loss upon Italy; for he was 
distinguished both as a savant and a patriot. Count 
Giovanne Battista Ercolani was born in Bologna in 
1819, and descended from an ancient patrician fam- 
ily. He was a favorite pupil of Antonio Alessandri, 
and early devoted himself to comparative anatomy 
and pathology. During the revolutionary movement, 
which swept over Europe in 1849, he was an ardent 
defender of Italian liberty, with the result of becom- 
ing an exile. He sought refuge in the near city of 
Turin, and there was appointed professor, afterwards 
director, of the veterinary school connected. with the 
university. He remained in Turin until 1863, when 
he returned to Bologna to accept a similar position 
in the old university of that city. By his energy and 
influence, new buildings were erected, the school re- 
organized and greatly enlarged, and a valuable path- 
ological museum established. For several years he 
held the position of rector of the university, and for 
a considerable period was permanent secretary of 
the Academy of science of the Institute of Bologna. 
Like Virchow, he was also a patriot. His reputation 
was not alone that of a teacher and savant; but his 
early career as a defender of popular rights made him 
a favorite with the citizens, and he was three times 
elected and served in the national parliament at 
Rome. 
His numerous publications have contained the re- 
sults of investigations made for the most part with 
the microscope, and have secured a wide reputation 
to hisname. Most of his contributions first appeared 
in the memoirs of the Accademia di Bologna. His 
works show ability both as an observer and a draughts- 
man, and a tendency to touch upon general prob- 
lems; but his arguments are not always clear, nor his 
observations sufficiently complete to establish his 
general theorems. He was an enthusiastic, careful, 
and industrious investigator, of whom Italy was 
justly proud. 
His most extensive series of researches was upon 
the histology of the placenta, which led him to the 
conclusion that the lining membrane of the uterus 
degenerates, the placental membrane being a new 
formation, the lining being reformed afterwards from 
the uterine glands. This is not in accord with the 
views generally held at present. His single law of 
embryonic nutrition in vertebrates can hardly be con- 
sidered novel, and is vague rather than profound. 
But the details recorded in these researches are of 
great value and interest. These memoirs, together 
with some additions supplied by the author, were 
translated into English, and published at Boston in 
1880, under the direction of an enthusiastic admirer, 
Dr. H. O. Marcy. 
His studies covered a wide range, — zodlogy, histol- 
ogy, and pathology were all included; but his most 
valuable work lay in the field of microscopical 
anatomy. His career has been justly admired, and 
his memory will long be cherished by his country- 
men. 
SCIENCE. 
"Sp hae 
[Von. IIL, No. 52. 
— The Government printing-office has just issued 
the third volume of the report of the tenth census. 
This relates to agriculture, and contains, besides the 
extended statistical tables concerning that industry, 
and discussion of them by the late superintendent, 
Gen. Walker, monographs upon cereal production, 
by William H. Brewer; flour-milling, by Knight 
Neftel; tobacco-culture, by J. B. Killebrew; manu- 
facture and movement of tobacco, by J. R. Dodge; 
and meat-production, by Clarence Gordon. 
Of the 1,182 pages embraced in this volume, 328 are 
devoted to the general statistical tables. ‘These are 
exhaustive, and are very judiciously arranged for 
reference and use. A general summary, by states, 
of the principal statistics in 1880, 1870, 1860, and 
1850, forms the first table. It treats of the number 
of farms; the area in farms, classifying the land as 
‘ tilled,’ ‘permanent meadows, pastures,’ etc., ‘ wood- 
land,’ and ‘other unimproved’ land; the value of 
farms, farming implements, and machinery; of live- 
stock, fences, fertilizers, and of all farm products; 
the number of the different classes of live-stock; the 
dairy products; cereal and fibre crops; sugar and 
molasses; hay, poultry, and eggs; apiarian products ; 
rice, tobacco, Irish and sweet potatoes; orchard, 
market-garden, and forest products; wool, hops, 
broom corn, and pulse. Following this is a tabular 
discussion of the number and area of farms, and 
their form of tenure, by states and by counties. 
After this are placed county tables relating to the 
principal agricultural products. These tables are pre- 
ceded by Gen. Walker’s discussion (comprising 33 
pages), in which are pointed out the limitations and 
qualifications of the statistics, and our progress in 
the different branches of the industry. It treats, 
in the author’s well-known terse, incisive: manner, 
upon the number and size of farms, their area and 
tenure, their value and that of farm products in 
total, and the principal agricultural productions sev- 
erally. 
The monograph by Professor Brewer upon the 
cereal crops is, like all work by this well-known 
authority, complete and exhaustive. He discusses 
the cereal product of this country as compared with 
that of other countries, especially with that of Eu- 
rope; showing, that, with a surplus production in 
the United States of 650,000,000 bushels during the 
census year, there was a deficit in Europe of 380,000,- 
000. The deficit in Great Britain was 280,000,000; in 
France, 170,000,000; and in Germany, 115,000,000 
bushels. Following this discussion, the author nat- 
urally treats of the exports of cereals, noting their 
rapid increase in recent years. Their geographic 
and climatic distribution is next discussed, and is 
followed by a brief sketch of the principal classes of 
soils with relation to their applicability to cereal 
culture. Taking up the cereals severally, Professor 
Brewer discusses the product of each, its geographical 
and climatic distribution, its history, varieties, meth- 
ods of culture, chemical composition, diseases, in- 
jurious weeds, and insects. The report closes with 
a brief history of American agriculture, and a dis- 
cussion of the relations of this to other industries, and 
