other causes, i. e., to physical, chemical and mechanical peculiarities of the soil (Hiltner's account). Dr. Hiltner's own observations date from the discovery of a browning of the root hairs. He states that often in his germination experiments he had observed that a part of the root hairs on certain seedling beets would be colored brown and peculiarly shortened. When examined under a hand lens these hairs were seen to be mere brown points instead of long tubes. Seeds from a lot which germinated well, and produced seedlings that showed this browning of the root hairs to a marked degree, came up badly when planted in garden earth, and those which did grow afterwards developed the root-burn, the characteristic constriction occurring just where the sound root hairs were wanting. Hellriegel's treatment was repeated. After soaking the beet balls in a solution of carbolic acid the root hairs remained perfectly sound, and there was no subsequent root-burn. The parasite, however, is not a fungus but a bacterium. "In each epidermal cell of the root which bore a stunted hair there was to be found a specific bacterium, and to this is to be attributed the final destruction of the root." It is not stated whether the organism was isolated from the roots, or whether any infection experiments were undertaken. The context would lead one to think nothing of this sort was attempted. RECENT LITERATURE. Journey Through Mongolia and Thibet.'-This volume is 413 pages, is published in octavo form under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution. It is an account of the travels of Mr. Rockhill in Mongolia and Thibet, based on a diary kept during the journey. The variety of subjects touched upon by the author in his descriptions of the country traversed, and the people with whom he was brought in contact, gives this volume a peculiar interest. Appendices to the diary 1 Diary of a journey through Mongolia and Thibet in 1891 and 1892. By William Woodville Rockhill. Published by Smithsonian Institution, 1894. contain information regarding the Solar and San-Ch'uan T'ujen vocabularies, the plants of Thibet, and the mean monthly temperature. A route map of the explorations made by the author, and a table of latitudes, altitudes, etc., accompany the book. The illustrations are numerous, comprising page plates and cuts in the text. Publications of the United States Geological Survey for 1893-4. FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT.-This work is issued in two parts. Part I containing the Report of the Director on the operations of the Survey of 1892-92 administration, together with several reports. Part II comprises the accompanying papers embodying the results of the topographic and hydrographic work of the survey, and of the geographical investigations carried on through its aid. These researches were prosecuted chiefly in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, in Vermont and Massachusetts, in certain Rocky Mountain areas, and the Pacific coast region. The illustrations are numerous, comprising 76 plates and 75 figures and diagrams. A MANUAL OF TOPOGRAPHIC METHODS.'-This manual is one of the series of monographs published by the United States Geological Survey in quarto form. Its object, as stated by the author in his introduction, is to present a description of the topographic work, instruments and methods used by the United States Geological Survey primarily for the information of the men engaged upon this work. The manual is accompanied by a collection of constants and tables used in the reduction of astronomical observations for position, of triangulation, of light measurements, and other operations connected with the making of topographic maps, and is illustrated by eighteen plates showing types of topography. MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.-This report for the calendar year 1893 is the tenth in the series. The subject-matter includes: First, a statement of the mineral products; secondly, the industrial conditions affecting these products; and thirdly, recent additions 2 Fourteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, 1892–93. Part I.-Report of the Director. Washington, 1893. Part II.-Accompanying Papers. Washington, 1894. 3 Monographs of the United States Geological Survey, Vol. XXII. A Manual of Topographic Methods. By Henry Gannett. Washington, 1893. * Mineral Resources of the United States for the Calendar Year 1893. By David T. Day. Washington, 1894. to the knowledge of mineral deposits in this country. The statistics of production, and of imports and exports, were collected by experts, whose names are given at the heads of the several chapters, and are, therefore, unquestionable. The arrangement of the material is convenient for reference, and a good index completes the work. An Introduction to the Study of Zoology."—This book, as stated by the author, is a kind of guide-book to beginners in the study of the animal kingdom. Among other good points made by Mr. Lindsay is a recommendation of a course of study in his advice to students, and suggestions as to the best books to buy for those whose time or money is limited. This forms Part III. Parts I and II treat respectively of the general principles of the subject and systematic zoology. Part I is concise, but clear, and on the whole up to date. The systematic part, however, is weak, by reason of the lack of clear, precise definitions. This is particularly true of the Vertebrata; and, in general, no advantage has been taken of the discoveries of paleontology. The illustrations are numerous and "taking." On the whole, the volume will be of interest and value to those whose wants it is intended to meet, i. e., the adult student, who wishes a first-lesson book which is not milk for babes. The Cranial Nerves of Batrachia. This paper is a reprint in book form of an article published in the Journal of Morphology, Vol. X, No. 1. The author confines himself to a discussion of the V, VII IX and X nerves, including other nerves in the description only as they come into connection with those specified. After an explanation of the technique employed, a detailed description of the nerves and their components is given, followed by a comparative morphology of components. The closing chapter deals with the relation of the cranial and spinal nerves, the relations of the pre- and post-auditory nerves, and the bearings which the results of the author's studies have upon the classification of the nerves and their segmental relations. Especial light is thrown on this subject by this research, which includes as an especial feature the determination for the first time of the motor and sensory fibres in each case. The monograph is one of especial excellence. 5 An Introduction to the Study of Zoology. By B. Lindsay. London, 1895, Swan, Sonnenschein & Co. New York, Macmillan & Co. $1.60. The Cranial Nerves of Amphibia. By Oliver S. Strong. Boston, 1895. Ginn & Co., Pub. Structure and Life of Birds.'-In this volume the author undertakes to show the development of birds from reptilian ancestors from anatomical evidence. He then describes the structure in detail, dwelling on the work done by special organs. The chapter on flight comprising some hundred pages, contains the latest information on this vexed problem, and includes much original matter, the result of Mr. Headley's personal investigations and observations. Color and song, instinct and reason, migration, and the principles of classification are treated of in separate chapters. A brief recapitulation of the arguments for and against the theory that the ancestors of the ostrich family were birds of flight, and hints as to the best methods of studying ornithology, are given in concluding the subject. Each chapter is accompanied by a list of books bearing upon the topic under discussion. Seventy-eight illustrations are given in the text, some of which are reproductions from photographs of birds in motion. RECENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. AMERICAN, AN.-The Cuban Question in its true light. BAILEY, V.-List of Mammals of the District of Columbia. New York, 1895. Extr. Proceeds. Pt. II, Extr. Science, April, 1896. BENEDICT, J. E.-Preliminary Descriptions of a new genus and three new spe cies of Crustaceans from an artesian well at San Marcos, Texas. Extr. Proceeds. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. XVIII, 1896. From the author. Bulletins 34 and 35, 1895, Agric. Exper. Station, Kingston, R. I. Bulletin No. 95 (n. s.) 1895, New York Agricultural Experiment Station. CATTELL, J. MCK.—On Reaction Times and the Velocity of the Nervous im pulse. National Acad. Sci., Vol. VII, Second Memoir. COKENOWER, J. W.-Can Maternal Mental Emotions produce Malformations, Deformities or Birthmarks? Extr. Omaha Clinic, 1894. From the author. COOKE, M. C.—Introduction to the Study of the Fungi. London, 1895, Adam and Charles Black. From the Pub. DAY, D. T.-Mineral Resources of the United States, 1894, Non-metallic Products. Sixteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv., 1894-95. Part IV. From the Survey. Structure and Life of Birds. By F. W. Headley. New York and London, 1895. Macmillan & Co. $2.00. FESTA, E.-Descrizione di un nuovo genere e di una nuova specie di Teiidae. Extr. Boll. Mus. Zool. ed Anat. Com. Torino, Vol. XI, 1896. From the author. FEWEKS, J. W.-A Contribution to Ethnobotany. Extr. Amer. Anthropol., 1896. From the author. GAUDRY, A.-Essai de Paléontology Philosophique. author. GEGENBAUR, C.-Clavicula und Cleithrum. Bd., 1 Heft., 1895. From the author. Paris, 1896. From the Aus. Morphol. Jahrb., XXIII, GIBSON, A. M.-Report upon the Coosa Coal Field with Sections. Montgomery, Ala., 1895. From the State Geologist, E. A. Smith. GILL, TH.-Huxley and his Work. Reprint from Science, Feb, 1896. From the author. GORDON, C. H.-Stratigraphy of the St. Louis and Warsaw Formations in Southeastern Iowa. Extr. Journ. Geol., Vol. III, 1895. -Syenite-Gneiss from the Apatite region of Ottawa County, Canada. Extr. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. 7, 1895. From the author. HEMPEL, A.-Descriptions of New Species of Rotifera and Protozoa from the Illinois River and Adjacent Waters. Bull. Ill. State Laboratory Nat. Hist., Vol. IV, 1896. From the author. HYATT, A.-Laboratory Teaching of large Classes. Extr. Science, February, 1895. -Lost Characteristics. Extr. Amer. Nat., 1896. Extr. From the -Remarks on the genus Nanno, Clarke. Extr. Am. Geol., 1895. Baltimore, 1895. JORDAN, D. S. AND E. C. STARKS.-The Fishes of Puget Sound. Biol. Hopkins Laboratory Biol., III. Palo Alto, 1895. Contrib. to KINGSBURY, B. `F.—On the Brain of Necturus maculatus. Extr. Journ. Comp. Neurol., Vol. V, 1895. From the author. LYMAN, B. S.-Report on the New Red of Bucks and Montgomery Counties. Extr. Penna. State Geol. Summary Final Report, Vol. III, Part II. From the author. MERRIAM, J. C.-Sigmogomphius lecontei, a new Castoroid Rodent. Extr. Bull. Dept. Geol. Univ. Calif., 1896. From the author. POLLARD, C. L.-The Purple flowered, stemless Violets of the Atlantic Coast. Extr. Proceeds. Biol. Soc. Washington, Vol. X, 1896. From the author. PROSSER, C. S.-The Classification of the Upper Paleozoic Rocks of Central Kansas. Extr. Journ. Geol. Chicago, Vol. III, No. 7, 1895. From the author. REIS, O. M.-Kopfstacheln bei Menaspis armata Ewald. No date given. -Ueber Belonostomus, Aspidorhynchus und ihre Beziehungen zum lebenden Lepidosteus. Extr. Sitzungsber d. k. bayr. Akad. d. Wiss., II, Cl. 1887. -Ueber eine Art fossilization der Musculatur. Aus der Gesselschaft f. Morphol. und Physiol., München. No date given. -Ueber ein Ememplar von Acanthodes bronnii. Ag. aus der geogn. Samm lung der "Pollichia." No date given. |