186 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
On the contrary, in Amoeba there is an outer layer with considerable 
surface tension. 
Contraction-phenomena in Pelomyxa.* — Prof. O. Israel has some 
interesting observations on the behaviour of Pelomyxa palustris Greeff. 
He first describes how the fresh margin of a divided Pelomyxa displays 
and often liberates spherules of protoplasm. At a temperature of 22°- 
24° C., an excised portion of a Pelomyxa moves vigorously, often losing 
pseudopodia in its efforts, but what interested the author was the appear- 
ance of striation in the marginal plasma. The striation was best seen 
on the finger-like pseudopodia and on the bridges formed when fragments 
are constricted off. These striae owe their distinctness to granular threads 
lying in the direction of the streaming movement, and these threads 
consist of lines of Bacteria, which previous observers have noticed in 
this Rhizopod. The author compares this striation to similar phenomena 
in Amoeba , &c., and leaves zoologists to follow up the quest. 
Structure of Volvox.f — Dr. 0. Zacharias returns, with a slight 
difference, to the view of Ehrenberg and Saville Kent, for he finds that 
the monads of Uroglena volvox are united to the centre by a dichotomising 
system of threads which appear to give coherence to the colony. Unless 
a monad is dividing, it has only one chromatophore ; this is slightly spiral 
in shape, which may account for the general impression that there are 
two such bodies. The two flagella, the: nucleus, &c., are described. 
Zacharias has also succeeded in observing the division of the colony into 
two or even three. 
Cretaceous Foraminifera of New Jersey. £ — Dr. A. Woodward 
reports that he has succeeded in identifying 26 genera and 59 species 
of Foraminifera from the Cretaceous formation of New Jersey. In 
those cases in which he was in doubt he had the assistance of the late 
Mr. H. B. Brady. 
Morphology and Classification of Coccidia.§ — M. A. Labbe disputes 
the correctness of Schneider’s classification of the Coccidia, as he found 
that the monosporic condition does not exist. He suggests that the term 
Polyplastidea be applied to those Coccidia that have an unlimited number 
of archispores, and that of Oligoplastidea to those in which the number 
of spores is definite. In the first group a distinction must be made 
between those which, like Pfeifferia and Eimeria, have the archispore 
giving rise directly to the sporozooite, and those which, like Klossia and 
Benedenia , have an archispore which becomes a group of sporozooites. 
In the second group the genus Coccidium is characterized by the posses- 
sion of four archispores, and might be taken as the type of the Tetra- 
sporia ; Diplospora, and others which have only two archispores, will 
form the Disporia. 
Parasitism in Cancer. |j — Though Prof. Cornil is no opponent of the 
jmrasitic theory of cancer, yet he is of opinion that proof of a parasitic 
* Archiv f. Mikr. Anat., xliv. (1894) pp. 228-36 (1 pi.). 
f Zool. Anzeig., xvii. (1894) pp. 353-6. 
i Journ. New York Micr. Soc., x. (1894) pp. 91-141. 
§ Comptes Rendus, cxix. (1894) pp. 1019 and 20. 
|| Mitteil. XI. Internat. Med. Ivongresse in Rom. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u . 
Parasitenk., xvi. (1894) pp. 576-8. 
