
No. 425.] ' NOTES AND LITERATURE. 411 
monograph of the heterocysted Nostochacez, the synonymy here is 
quite meager; those who are interested in the ganzen Ballast veral- 
teter Namen aus jener Zeit are referred to Agardh's, Kutzing’s, and 
Harvey’s works. References to standard plates are abundant, but 
there are practically no references to published exsiccata, which is 
often unfortunate ; a plate can tell only what the artist saw, or even 
only what he chose to represent; the plant itself, if in proper con- 
dition, is ready to answer questions that never occurred to the artist 
or the author. The plates in the present work give an instance of 
this: when a figure is intended to show the position of certain cells, 
it shows that with the utmost distinctness, but usually nothing more ; 
no indications of thickness of cell walls, character of chromatophores, 
etc.; where some other character is under consideration, that is given 
the prominence, to the exclusion or subordination of all others. The 
plates, however, tell admirably what they undertake to tell; if we 
were told also where we could find the plant itself, nothing more 
could be asked. But some remarks by the author as to specimens 
which belong to several distinct species and appear as autograph 
authentic specimens of a single species may account for a reluctance 
to give exsiccatze numbers. 
The work is written in a clear and comprehensible style, and now 
and then contains a graphic expression, which, if not necessary for 
scientific value, certainly does not detract from it. It would seem 
that any student, with even a fair knowledge of German, could use 
the work readily. The ordinary American student, however, will 
be more likely to borrow the copy of some well-to-do friend than to 
own one, the price being 120 marks. 
Californian Nitophylla.'— In the historical sketch with which 
this paper opens, the first reference to Californian Nitophylla is given 
as *W. H. Harvey, 1858, Pt. II, p. 104, Suppl, p. 128." This is 
misleading, as Part II of the Nereis was published in 1853 ; Part III, 
with the supplement, in 1858. Thus the history of Nitophyllum in 
California dates back five years earlier than given by the author. 
The latest reference is in 1898, when J. G. Agardh published 
Vol. III, Part III, of the Egzerzsis (noticed in the American Natu- 
ralist for June, 1899), giving fourteen species for the west coast of 
America. Mr. Nott’s careful study of living and dried material, 
from all parts of the coast, shows that six of these must be 
1 Nott, Charles Palmer. Nitophylla of California, Description and Distribu- 
tion, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., Ser. 3, Botany, vol. ii (1901). 62 pp- 9 pls. 
