NEWS NOTES 
Index to Plant Chromosome Numbers 
The need for up-to-date coverage of the 
literature dealing with plant chromosome num- 
bers has led to an undertaking designed to 
compile and publish in annual installments a 
chromosome index for the entire plant kingdom. 
This is being done by a group of botanists 
who are reviewing some two hundred journals 
and are listing all original chromosome counts 
occurring therein, except those resulting from 
endopolyploidy or deviating because of experi- 
mental treatment. 
The first issue, in part supported by a grant 
from the University Research Council of the 
University of North Carolina, will be ready for 
distribution in May, 1958. It will cover the 
1956 journals, from which over 2,000 listings 
have been taken. It is being produced by offset 
process, 8 V 2 x 11 inches, on paper punched for 
•loose-leaf binders. The price is $1.00. Advance 
orders would be helpful in determining the 
number of copies to print. Orders must be 
accompanied by payment and may be sent to 
C. Ritchie Bell, Department of Botany, Uni- 
versity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North 
Carolina. 
International Oceanographic Congress 
The American Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science, in cooperation with UNESCO 
and the Special Committee on Oceanic Re- 
search of ICSU, is planning and organizing an 
International Oceanographic Congress to be 
held during the period from 30 August to 12 
September 1959 at the United Nations Building, 
New York. The Congress will be devoted to 
the fundamentals of the marine sciences rather 
than to their applications, and will be centered 
around five symposia on the oceans: 
1. The history 
2. The boundaries 
3. The deep sea 
4. Dynamics of organic and inorganic sub- 
stances 
5. The marine life regime 
Each topic ior a symposium will be con- 
sidered for two consecutive days. Three invited 
lectures will be given each morning. The after- 
noon sessions will be organized around the 
morning topics, either in round-table discus- 
sions, in seminars, or in a series of papers. Sev- 
eral groups may run concurrently. Papers for the 
afternoon sessions will be selected from those 
received in response to this and subsequent an- 
nouncements. Not all papers which have been 
accepted will actually be presented, but all ac- 
cepted papers will be available at the meeting 
in mimeographed form. Titles and abstracts 
should be submitted as soon as possible and in 
no case later than 1 February 1959- The com- 
pleted papers must be submitted by 1 May 
1959 in order to allow time for duplication and 
distribution to the participants in the afternoon 
meetings well in advance of the meeting. All 
papers must have an abstract in a second 
language of the Congress. Papers may be pre- 
sented in English, French, German, Russian, or 
Spanish. Simultaneous translations will be 
available for at least some of these languages. 
The organizing committee expects that con- 
temporary advances in the marine sciences, 
rather than reviews of older published work, 
will be presented under these broad topics. It 
is hoped that the younger staff members of the 
various oceanographic laboratories around the 
world will be encouraged to attend and to take 
part in the Congress. In order to assist with 
their attendance, the committee hopes to obtain 
funds to help defray the travel expenses of these 
younger participants. The committee also hopes 
to be able to contribute towards the travel ex- 
penses of the invited speakers at the morning 
sessions. 
This notice should be considered as prelimi- 
nary. Until further notices are issued, titles and 
abstracts of papers, which are publicly solicited 
by this notice, and any other correspondence 
should be sent to: 
Dr. Mary Sears, Chairman 
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 
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