322 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vor. XXXV. 
related to the echinostomes, but the lateral lobes of the head, which are 
supplied with spines, have been transformed into a retractile proboscis. 
An Atlantic “ Palolo” is described by Mayer (Bull. Mus. Comp. 
Zool., Vol. XXXVI, pp. 1-14, 3 pls.). The form, which is shown to 
be distinct from the Pacific species of similar name and habits, is 
named Staurocephalus gregaricus. It appeared in a dense swarm 
before sunrise on a single morning and discharged its sexual prod- 
ucts with the coming of the sun under contractions so violent that 
the ripe segments were torn open. The author gives an interesting 
discussion of the advantages of this habit in shortening the egg- 
laying season, concentrating the breeding individuals and not only 
insuring more perfect fertilization, but also reducing the distance 
which the sperm must traverse in order to fertilize the ova; while 
‘the increased struggle for food due to the production of a large 
number of young larva is counterbalanced by the heavily yolk-laden 
egg of this species. 
The Alciopide and Tomopteride of the Plankton Expedition by 
Apstein (Ergebnisse der Plankton- Expedition der Humboldt-Stiftung, 
Bd. II, H. b., 61 pp., 14 pls.) opens with an extended taxonomic 
account of the alciopids captured. The geographical distribution of 
these forms has been much extended, as appears from the tables 
given, which also show that the group belongs to warmer waters, with 
the exception of strays found in the northern branches of the Gulf 
Stream and of a single Antarctic species. Within the warm zones 
they appear to be generally distributed without special areas and are 
present everywhere in approximately equal numbers, as shown by the 
hauls of the vertical net. Among the tomopterids, however, a single 
species seems to occur only in the vicinity of land, though with an 
extended range, while the others are all true pelagic forms. The 
genus contains species found in cold waters, — those characteristic 
of warm regions and such as inhabit both. While moderately equally 
distributed, these forms do not manifest the uniformity noted for the 
alciopids. 
BOTANY. 
Some Recent Forestry Publications. — The interest in the preser 
PFE of the timber covering which still characterizes certain parts 
of the earth, and its renewal in denuded areas, which appears to be 
