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FROM THE EMPLOYMENT of the simplest protective devices to the construction of elaborate conservatories, the extension of the normal growth pattern of plant life through an artificially controlled environment is a luxury. It is a luxury that requires not only wealth but time, devoted care, and relatively tranquil societies. No rationalization of motive can align it with physical survival or economic necessity. The art does not flourish on a frontier where every man-hour is spent on the practical considerations of life. By the seventeenth century European gardeners had attained the prerequisites, but they needed additional motivation to enter into experimentation with planthouses. Certainly one of the major forces which gave rise to the necessity of protected growing conditions was the importation of plants not compatible with the northern climate. The great period of exploration and trade with newly discovered or hitherto untravelled lands was underway, and often the ships and caravans returning from these voyages carried exotic seeds and plants that required a warmer environment to flower or survive. As we shall see, this new impetus, together with a generally widespread interest in gardening and an awakening awareness of the scientific study of plants, provided the stimuli which produced the antecedents of the greenhouse. Three separate methods of plant protection combined to form the greenhouse as we know it today: the orangery, the fruit-wall, and the stovehouse. In their early development each division aimed at solving a specific horticultural problem; however, as knowledge became more available, it was found that the solution to the growing problems of a certain plant could be modified and utilized in the culture

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A reply to M. P. Petrov's article “Once again about the desiccation of Asia,” Soviet Geography, December 1966, takes issue with the view that there can be a desiccation of the landscape in the absence of a demonstrable progressive aridity of the climate itself. Alternative explanations are presented for phenomena interpreted by Petrov as evidence of desiccation, such a reduction of the area of glaciers, a predominance of wind erosion and sheet wash, a reduction of the area of lakes, and a degradation of plant life.

The northern limit of agriculture depends not on physiographical conditions but on economic considerations. This truism is frequently emphasized by Soviet writers, who point out that it is possible to provide the requisite conditions for plant life at any point on the earth's surface. What determines whether or not a crop is to be grown is the extent to which agriculturalists are willing to provide the plant with its appropriate environment. The latter very rarely coincides with the natural environment, and in some cases, as in the far north, may differ greatly from it. The following survey attempts to outline the extent to which Soviet agriculturalists have gone in providing plants with suitable growing conditions north of the arctic circle. The question whether the objective of arctic agriculture, food and fodder for the arctic zone, could not be realized more conveniently by transporting produce from a milder clime, will also be discussed.

In the year 1963 the State President of the Republic of South Africa appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the alleged threat to animal and plant life in St. Lucia Lake. The Commission, over the years 1964 to 1966, organised a number of special investigations which, was published in photolitho form in 1967 and set before Parliament. This paper is not quite the same as the report submitted to the Commission of Inquiry; parts have been re-written with a different bias and a complete check-list of the fauna has been added with notes on habitats, salinity tolerances, etc. The paper deals essentially with the findings of the 1964/65 expeditions, but comparisons are made with earlier expeditions and with other estuaries.

Introduction For the American Museum I have been continuously engaged since June, 1900, in the exploration of the geology, flora, and fauna of three great formations which in their animal and plant life bridge over the passage from Cretaceous to Eocene time, as determined by comparison with the life of the same epochs in Europe. I propose to compare these formations with each other and with the typical Lance Creek formation of Wyoming. These formations are: I have determined the geologic sequence in each of these formations and the succession of the species of reptiles. The mammals have been determined with . . .

THE been class vaguely of substances recognized, known and as as the vaguely pectins studied, or pectic by compounds a number have of been vaguel recognized, and as vaguely studied, by a number of botanists and chemists for over a hundred years. They are described as colloidal gelatinous substances of carbohydrate nature, occurring in varying amounts in herbaceous trees and plants, in the tissues of fruits, in certain roots such as carrots and turnips, and as constituents of gums and mucilages. During recent years the significance of the pectic compounds in relation to normal and abnormal processes of plant life has been considered, and their importance in connexion with certain economic problems has also been recognized. Several lines of investigation have received attention, and the following may be enumerated as the most important

Water plays a significant role for the sound health of every person and is also essential for plant life. About 75% of the earth’s crust is covered with water, and the human body comprises approximately 70% of water. So drinking water is most urgent for human life. In Nepal about 50% of the urban citizens are benefited from piped supply drinking water. Rest of the population have to rely on natural sources. Nepal is a land of many villages where the majority of the people are living. In rural areas of our country, pond, river, lake and stream which are situated several kilometres away from villages. They are the main sources of water. So in most of the villages the people have to go daily almost a kilometer for the search of drinking water as well as for cleaning purposes. They don’t know whether the water is wholesome or not. There may be environmental pollution, which may result in the deterioration of water quality, which causes the outbreaks of many diseases.

Autumn school weeks were speeding away as lesson plans called for a change of topic. During October we had been considering plant life. In our chemistry laboratory where biology classes were held pending the erection of a longawaited new building with its enticing facilities for science projects and procedures, we had looked at many specimens gathered from garden and field. About once every week or ten days, in order to show what we had talked over and read about in the chapters on the flowering plants as described in MOON AND MANN 's and CURTIS, CALDWELL, AND SHERMAN'S texts, I carried much actual material to class. It included leaves, stems to illustrate branching, bud types, root systems, flowers and their infloreseences, attractive fruits and vegetables such as a well-supplied, garden-conscious neighborhood, including my own productions at Victory Valley Farm, would afford. The array was distributed on the chemistry locker unit tops with just enough space provided for the students in my large sections of forty and over to stand side by side and examine them. For the first time, I found, not a few learned facts they had scarcely realized before. How little, as well as how much, certain members knew of practical gardening was revealed by incidental remarks and comments. One girl had planted green snap beans in quart berry baskets early in the spring for summer transplanting. Whether she had her reward in a crop earlier than her neighbors I did not find. Everyone was victory gardening that year with illuminating experiences. Textbooks figures and descriptions were compared with actualities, and records were encouraged by means of blackboard questions and outlines. The pupils enjoyed these exercises, made enquiries about the work as it went along, and showed excellent interest in spite of crowded quarters and other limitations. At the close of the study, about November tenth, I wished to find out something concerning what the classes had remembered and what, if anything, had made the greatest impression. My proposal was intentionally planned as a surprise so that there might be nO more than the usual review and preparation. The two classes, College Preparatory and General, followed each other for the sixth and seventh or final periods of the day. Little concern was shown when I assured them that this was in the natute of an exploration test not to be graded severely for marks of standing. They wrote willingly and interestedly on the topic "The Five Facts which I Remember Best about Plant Life." There was little opportunity to see more than the flowering plants and their organs although some demonstrations with the compound microscope were arranged for observation. Text material on the spore-formers was not as plentiful as for the -seed-bearers. Some time had been spent on economic values and certain plant functions had been presented with but a minimum of experimentation.

The microscopical examinations of public water supplies have become universal, and in many places constitute routine laboratory tests, but these determinations are made principally for the purpose of the treatment of the supplies for the removal of algae and similar micro-organisms causing tastes and odors in the water. Water works superintendents and chemists in charge of such works have given but little study to the biochemical reactions of such plant life when present in reservoirs, and with the exception of various limological investigations that have been made, little data of this character are available. It is a well known fact, however, that these organisms do have a great effect upon the physical, chemical and biological quality of stored water. In a recent investigation undertaken to determine the effect of dissolved gases in stored water upon ozonization of the supply of the Baltimore County Water and Electric Company, it was clearly demonstrated that certain forms of algae can within a comparatively short time entirely remove the free carbon dioxide from the water, . as well as use up a considerable amount of the half bound carbon dioxide, thereby reducing the bicarbonate of calcium and magnesium to normal carbonates of these salts; at the same time causing the dissolved oxygen content of the supply to rise to a point of excessive supersaturation. Such conditions have been noted by many investigators, but these phenomena are not usually to be found in shallow reservoirs where the storage period of the water is relatively short and where the supply of free CO2 in the raw water is considerable, due to high organic contents. The two reservoirs used for storage purposes on the Herring Run system of this company are operated continuously, and have a combined storage capacity sufficient for twenty-one days' supply.

Introduction The natural order of sequence in considering the relations between the Mesozoic floras of North and South America must be the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. Triassic Rocks of Triassic age are known in many and widely separated parts of the world, and they are of great thickness, which implies a varied and relatively long-continued period of geologic activity. It is also evident from the thick deposits of coal known at several points, and in other ways, that vegetation must have been fairly abundant and considerably varied in character; yet the determinable forms of plant life that have thus far been recovered from the Triassic are surprisingly few in number—in fact, it is doubtful if the known flora far exceeds 300 species. This is, of course, to be largely attributed to the fact that much of the deposits were laid down under marine conditions, where one would hardly . . .

In the later nineteenth century, it was established that magnesium is one of the essential elements to plant life. In 1902 Loew1) and his pupils suggested the necessity of calcium-magnesium- balance in culture solution for the proper growth of the plant. Then, in 1906, it was established that, as first shown by Willstatter, magnesium is one of the constituents of chlorophyll and when this element is lacking, a chlorosis occurs. Dickson2), in 1918, described about the feature of oat plant grown in a magnesium deficient nutrient solution. At that time, it was thought that magnesium was generally contained in the soil more abundantly than the plant required. So this element scarcely received attention. Garner et al.3), in 1923, observed that chlorosis of tobacco plant, so-called sand drown was cured by applying magnesium to the soil. Similar observation was made in 1929 by Jones4) on the chlorosis of corn plant. Since that time the magnesium deficiency in all crops was observed everywhere by a great...

In 1929 the Marine Biological Association began a survey of the River Tees Estuary, to study the various physical and chemical conditions and the types and distribution of animal and plant life. At the same time a tidal stream survey was carried out by the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty. Later, for purposes of comparison, the scope of the enquiry was extended to a survey of the Kiver Tay, but on a less extensive scale.

SYNOPSIS Sunshine is a very important climatic element, not only from the standpoint of the a agriculturist, but also from its physical effect on man and other animals. The depressing influence on human beings of long periods of cloudy and damp weather is noticeable, even to the casual observer, while, on the other hand, long periods of successive days with continuous sunshine and high temperature are trying on all animal and plant life. Long hot periods are usually characterized by few clouds and much sunshine, when, day after day, the amount of insolation received during the daytime results in an accumulation of heat in excess of that lost at night by radiation. Finally a change in pressure conditions results in the breaking up of the stagnant atmosphere, bringing refreshing winds and welcome clouds to relieve the situation. Sunshine data are recorded and expressed either in values giving the actual amount in hours and tenths, or by indicating the percentage of the possible amount. Each of thes...

The Hadiation Effects Reactor (RER) has been operated for approximately 600 Mwh. During that time, studies were made to determine the radiation and activation effects on the environs of the Georgia Nuclear Laboratories (AFP 67). Soil, air, and water samples were collected to determine the amount of activation and the resulting buildup of radioactive materials. Instrument surveys and foil measurements were made to determine radiation levels. The effects of high gamma - and neutron exposures on plant life were observed as part of an ecology program performed in conjunction with Emory University. A preliminary report of these studies is given.

When one suggests a comparison of plant life on land with that of the open sea, the enormous and obvious differences in the conditions of existence come obtrusively to mind. The land flora appears to be peculiarly a border flora set fixedly into the surface of a solid substratum and projected outwardly into a gaseous stratum. Its contact with water, the essential fluid medium, is not much in evidence. Two such diverse media as air and soil offer vast possibilities for variability in conditions of existence, possibilities very considerably increased by the relation of both to the necessary fluid. As a consequence we find a complexity of conditions and of interrelationships which is most impressive. The slightest irregularity in land surface usually has profound and incalculable influences on the character of the plant population of its vicinity through changes in details of its contact with the atmosphere and through changes in the incidence of light, range of temperature and capacity for retaining water. Add to this the infinitely varied structural details of the soil itself and we get an almost incomprehensible total. With such complexity of conditions the open sea seems to offer material for contrast rather than for comparison. The activities of organisms are confined to one medium of the three already mentioned, the fluid medium, the most important biologically, it is true, but none the less giving a greatly simplified physical relationship. Furthermore, on account of the fluid character of the medium and the ease of diffusion in it, one may easily suppose that its structural features are uniform and invariable, at least over large areas. It also appears that its great mobility tends to eliminate those highly influential irregularities of surface so evident on the solid earth. There are, however, fundamental similarities which appear on closer study. Cyclical changes in temperature and light are no less important in the sea than on land, though often less extreme and abrupt. Ocean currents, up and down, north and south, east and west, and to all intermediate directions are constantly causing changes in conditions quite similar to many of those which occur on land as a result of irregular soil surface and very frequent readjustments of the relationships of the solid and gaseous strata. It

Owing to the permanent location of mineral resources, the high cost of their production, and man's desire for them, the mine is a fixed point in the structure of the community, population movements being made with reference to its location. The mine functions as a more or less fixed division of labor. The plantation depends more closely for its location upon environmental conditions. Within the limits of these conditions plant life, unlike mineral resources, can be distributed by human agencies to suit the convenience of consuming populations. The plantation, therefore, affords more opportunity for competition. While the plantation is characterized by specialization, its division of labor is not as determined as that of the mine. Under conditions of necessity it may diversify its products.

The study of chemical forms and physiological mobility of elements found in plants is always essential to establishing the roles of elements in plant life. Such information in combination with the results of growth experiments will lead to more. reliable conclusions on the physiological functions of elements.

ALFALFA leaf meal and alfalfa meal have long been the standard green feeds in poultry rations that are fed in the Temperate Zone. Commercial poultry enterprises in the tropics and subtropics also depend upon imported alfalfa. One may well wonder at this situation when one looks at the lush vegetation and continuous growth of plant life in the tropics. Surely, among the numerous legumes and grass species that abound, some plants might be raised economically that can replace alfalfa in poultry rations. Feeding trials have been conducted with certain tropical legumes. Quisenberry (1946) found that koa haole (Leucaena glauca) leaf meal effectively replaced imported and Hawaii-produced alfalfa meals when when it was fed to young chicks at 5 percent of total ration. He reported that koa haole leaf meal contained nearly twice as much carotene as alfalfa leaf meal similarly harvested and dried. Growth was depressed, however, when this meal …

The ultimate structure of the cell, as it is understood in animal and plant life, is still largely a matter of theory among biologists. A cell appears as a tangible unit, apparently definitely set off from its fellows, and easily discernible with low powers. Yet its exact constitution and its exact relationship to the surrounding cells are not known. So far, scientists have had to imagine how such a structure, with the known functions that it possesses, ought to be composed; it has not yet been possible by actual observation to prove this composition. Many things enter into this difficulty. Cells are very small structures and cannot be viewed with the naked eye. The interposition of a lens or lenses increases the possibility of error. Especially when using lenses of high power is there very little certainty about what is seen. The difficulty of seeing cells in their natural state is great, and resort is had to material that is killed and fixed. Here, even though one is sure of what he sees, he cannot be certain that it is the same as in life. Again, the diversity of cells in different organs and organisms is illimitable, and it is known that even in the same cell the cytoplasm can change its appearance: so that the problem of getting at the typical and final structure and the behavior of this cytoplasm is by no means an easy one.

The sporae dispersae show certain quantitatively variable features and other qualitatively variable characteristics. The former are those which can be measured in arithmetical denominations, e.g., overall size, size of sculptural elements and their number in a unit area, size of other measurable features, etc. whereas the latter can only be described, e.g., the shape, special equatorial or polar features, nature of ornamentation, shape of sculptural elements, organisation in three dimensions, i.e., the appearance of the spore prior to fossilization, etc. It has been described in detail how these various quantitative and qualitative features can be studied in a scientific way to arrive at correct conclusions. It is suggested that the spore genera should be separated from each other on the basis of differences in qualitative characteristics, and the species within each such spore genus (on the resolution of quantitative variations exhibited by a significant population) into statistically or graphically separable units. It has been emphasized that in the circumscription of taxa of sporae dispersae, their stratigraphical distribution must also be taken into account. It is a well known fact that throughout the geological history of plant life, evolution, if no other factor, has always played a decisive role in changing the species and genera from one geological sub-period (or period) to another.

THE covering with which nature has endowed animals is an exceedingly complex substance. Chemically, hides and skins are made up principally of colloidal proteins, concerning the ultimate composition of which little is known. Of course, the raw hide contains 50 to 70% of water and widely varying amounts of fatty and mineral matters in addition to these amino acids. One of the constant tribulations of the tannery technologist lies in the fact that his basic raw materials are hides—a packing-house by-product varying in size, shape, thickness texture, and condition. From these, with the aid of such widely varying materials as extracts from natural plant life, a uniform product is sought—and in volume production. To supply the normal leather needs of America alone, about 125 million animals are slaughtered annually, representing approximately 24 billion pounds of edible meats. If all the animals represented merely by the hides used in the United States each year were ...

Although temperature and gravity both influence plant life, and although both factors have been studied for many decades, there is surprisingly little literature decades, there is surprisingly little literature dealing with the relation between the two; and none, so far as I can discover, on the effect in any Pteridophyte. Navez (1929) who criticized the work of some investigators on the effect of temperature on the geotropism of a few seedlings, sums up the present position in his remark that the conclusions of workers are very different and often in opposition. The present paper gives the results of 1100 experiments carried out mainly between the years 1922 and 1927, and though it is realized that much remains to be done on the question, it is believed that the results which have been obtained are of some value. For general methods, reference may be made to previous “Studies” in this series. Geotropic sensitivity, as measured by presentation time at different stages in development of the frond, was fully worked out by Waight (1923) for 20°C, and is adopted here as a standard of reference. The growth rate recorded in the tables is that for the particular frond under investigation, or is the average of the fronds examined during the day of the experiment. Nearly all the experiments included in the tables were conducted during the months of April-October, as I have since been able to show that there is an annual rhythm in geotropic irritability. A decrease in sensitivity occurs in winter, and hence experiments performed in November-March are not strictly comparable with those carried out in the summer. The following abbreviations are used:- P.S. = period of stimulation. P.T. = presentation time, i. e ., the minimum period of stimulation in a horizontal position, which, under the given conditions, will cause a movement of approximately 5° in about 80% of the fronds. L.T. = latent time (Prankerd, 1925) in hours. N = “normal time,” i. e ., the P.T. For different stages of the frond at 20°C (see Waight, 1923).

Certain air pollutants from combustion and others derived via complex photochemical reactions of the primary pollutants in the atmosphere are toxic to vegetation. This paper presents a discussion of these pollutants and their effects on plants. Chemical methods currently employed to measure the occurrence of these pollutants frequently lack sensitivity and specificity to determine accurately the compounds involved. The use of vegetation as well as chemical analysis to monitor air pollutants, however, provide powerful tools for measuring the complex composition of the atmosphere. New and improved analytical techniques suitable for detailed analysis of low levels of impurities present in the atmosphere need to be developed for use both in the laboratory and in the field. In monitoring, the atmosphere chemical methods record the concentration of specific pollutants while the phytological methods measure the total impact of pollutants on plant life.

According to the reference books of a decade ago, ecology meant for the most part a study of plants and their surroundings. It is not easy to arrive at a full understanding of the then ecological conception for it seems to have carried with it a great deal of the older philosophy from which it sprang. While the early history of the concept is probably lost to us f orever, there are not wanting indications that the ecological idea was conceived in the same atmosphere as the theory of design, or of purposeful adaptation. However that may be, the effort on the part of later professors of ecology has been to eschew all such philosophies except the fundamental assumption that plants and the rest of nature are intricately interdependent one upon the other. The empirical method of science is then appealed to as a technique by which it is hoped that particularistic relations between some plant and some specific aspect of nature may be demonstrated. There is no denying, however, that the true ecologist is hoping for some illuminating laws, or formulations in terms of sequential events, of universal application to plant life and nature. Yet, the tendency seems to have been to seek in some one general aspect of nature the determiners of plant form and distribution, and on the other hand to attempt an enumeration of the associations of other living forms with plants. Yet I am well aware that ecology, as now considered, is not primarily a matter of vegetables, but that one may begin the study of ecology from a zoological horizon. It was suggested, and in fact quite obviously implied, in the invitation tendered me by your society, that someone had gone to such lengths as to extend the ecological conception to men. Yet, whatever may be the real facts, it remains that the history and vicissitudes of anthropology have not been so very different from that of ecology. Ecology, for example, began with plants, but by the very nature of its fundamental assumption

Foraminifera; or the papers of Schaefer (1923, 1924, 1926) on the marine amoebas. The marine Mastigophora have receivedscant atten tion as a whole although Lohmann (1902) and Schiller (1926) have published important papers. The Dinoflagellata, however, have been extensively investigated, notably by such workers as Kofoid and Swezy (1921), and Lebour (1925). There is even less general work on the marine Ciliata, although the Tintinnoidea have been extensively studied by some workers, notably Jorgensen (1927), and there are descriptive papers by FaurA©-FrA©miet(1924) and Kahl (1928). The “? Nordische Plankton― presents a survey of the marine Protozoa, and the chapter on pelagic plant life by Gran (1912) in “? The Depths of the Ocean― gives a generalization of what is knOwn with regard to the pigment bearing forms. How little we actually know of the occurrence and functions of the Protozoa in the seas is indicated by the fact that in the book “? The Marine Plankton,― (Johnstone, Scott and Chadwick, 1924) the Protozoa are not considered except for the “? vegetableplankton,― i.e., peridinians, whereas it has been definitely shown that a considerable part of the plankton both by numbers and volume may consist of Pro tozoa. They are probably more numerous and more important than is gen erally realized. Gran (1912) recorded more than “? 200,000 calcareous flagellates per liter . . . just outside the European coast bank― and Allen (1919) reported 14,450 per liter of sea water. He used the hand centrifuge to concentrate the organisms but was dissatisfied with the method, so by diluting his sea water into culture media and counting his

This paper discusses ways and means of more effective action, on an international scale, for the protection of endangered plant life, and shows how, in places where people have become aware of possessing spectacular or unique examples of plant life, they have often added to amenities around sacred places and created inviolate parts of the world's heritage. Good results for conservation of representative areas have been reached locally through improved attitudes towards rational land-use planning, great caution in the employment of herbicides and pesticides, recognition in forestry of the need for a systems planning for natural areas, and awareness that the great diversity of the green plant cover, of flowers and trees, is among the most delightful features helping to keep the Earth as a livable and beautiful environment. Plant protection can be a very good and profitable way to promote local tourism.

The body of information presented in this paper is directed to ecologists concerned with the effects and economic impact of sulfur dioxide on forest growth. Investigations were carried out over a ten-year period, 1953–1963, in the Sud-bury smelter district of Ontario, where three large smelters discharge annually approximately 2,000,000 tons of sulfur dioxide gas into the surrounding atmosphere. The study was designed to determine the long-term chronic effects of sulfur dioxide on yield, growth, and survival of plant life. Since eastern white pine is the most susceptible coniferous tree to sulfur dioxide injury, it was selected as the indicator tree to determine the degree and extent of injury in the Sudbury area. Tree data accumulated from the sample plots were correlated with records of atmospheric sulfur dioxide monitored continuously during the growing season by a network of ten strategically-located Thomas autometers. Based on the degree of injuries exhibited by the trees, and on air sampling records...

Forestry and agriculture have much in common. The crop production of plant life in various forms is the primary object of both sciences. In no way is the common relationship between forestry and agriculture more fully demonstrated than by the dependence of their crops upon the condition and health of the soil for existence and growth. Although forest soil science can be said to have been initiated in I893 when Ramann published his masterly work on " Forstliche Bodenkunde und Standortslehre," it has not kept pace with similar developments in agricultural soil science. The catastrophies which in recent years have overtaken spruce forests in Saxony have stimulated the interest in forest soil studies. The resulting decrease in site quality has manifested the need for a more rational use of forest soil. In Saxony, since i850 (Anonymous, '23), forest management has been based chiefly upon a financial rotation, no effort being made to maintain the soil fertility through the introduction of hardwood species. Clear-cutting and replanting of pure Norway spruce have been the outstanding features of the system, and until recently the results apparently have been excellent. However, at present the annual cut is but 40 cubic feet per acre, whereas before the war it was 69 cubic feet. This represents a falling off in yearly growth of almost 45 per cent. Among the several reasons alleged for this reduction is the development of podsol soil, a soil formation characteristic only of wooded land. In Saxony, it was found (Anonymous, '23) that " pure stands of spruce fail to maintain the fertility of the soil. The soil loses its life; it turns a blue-gray color; there are no rainworms, no microbes, no insects in it; it is littered by a sort of peat ' Trockentorf,' which seems to cover the soil in an air-proof and moisture-proof layer. During the first generation of pure spruce, these changes and these drawbacks do not seem to enter an appearance. In the second and third, they become evident, particularly during dry seasons. The result is utter stagnation of growth." In the words of Dr. C. A. Schenck, the forest soils of Saxony are "sick," and their former productiveness can be restored only after many years of careful work.

Although much is known about the functions of the endocrine glands, their study still remains the most fertile field for advancement in medicine. The actions of these glands are so greatly influenced by environment, vitamins, chemicals and emotional states that the results of animal experimentation are not conclusive. The action of one gland is so intimately bound up with the actions of all the other glands that it is almost impossible to isolate hyperfunction or hypofunction of any single gland. In an effort to make up for the deficiency of a hypofunctioning gland, other glands may develop hyperfunction of their primary secretions or of their component glands. Then the vitamins, which are to plant life what the hormones are to animal life, are essential to the proper functioning of the endocrine system. Finally, biochemical reactions and the nervous system regulate the endocrine function, and the endocrine function controls

THE subject of the ecological associations of various forms of life has recently been given considerable attention. Most of the studies that have been made along this line, however, have been of plant life. Such studies of animal life, and particularly of bird life, have been comparatively few. This is probably because animals, and particularly birds, can move about from place to place, and are consequently less closely related to any one ecological association. In the breeding season, however, birds are fairly stationary, remaining in the vicinity of their nests. At this time they are confined to certain associations, which evidently depend on the character of their food and the locality chosen for their nesting sites. Sometimes a given species is confined to a single association and makes up a component part of its life. At other times a species may be found in several different associations, and may be less common in one than another. Occasionally a species nests in one association, but obtains its food largely in another. The study of these associations and the proportionate abundance of the different species of each is not only of great scientific interest, but also has an important bearing on the problem of obtaining an accurate census of our birds, and on the problems of the preservation of wild life. In forestry, the study of the forest types, which is merely a simpler name for an ecological association of forest trees, is of great importance. In my work with the United States Forest Service in Montana, I was frequently called upon to study and map these types. Through this work I obtained a closer insight into these associations and their relations to other forms of life. In the local lists of birds which I have published for the different parts of Montana where my work has been located, I have attempted to describe the more important associations and list the species breeding in each. I have always hoped, however, for an opportunity to make a deeper study of these associations, showing the proportions of

Charles Gabriel Seligman died from infective endocarditis in a nursing home at Oxford on 19 September 1940. He was bom in London on 24 December 1873, the only child of Hermann and Olivia ( née Mendez da Costa) Seligmann. (He dropped the last letter of his surname after 1914.) His interests in natural science became early manifest: while still at a preparatory school, he began to collect butterflies and, at the house of a boy friend, carried out chemical experiments. He then entered St Paul’s School, but the education he received there was far from congenial to him. Lonely and unhappy at home, reserved and discontented at school, he would often play truant to satisfy his growing interests in animal and plant life, spending his time collecting, dissecting and reading. His mother, an invalid, would sometimes remove him from St Paul’s to spend a term with her at a seaside resort. On these occasions he educated himself by reading widely in the local public library. When he was about sixteen years old he lost his father, and his mother died not long after. On her death an uncle, his guardian, arranged for him to be housed in a family of relatives between whom and himself unfortunately there existed little affection or sympathy. He formed friendships with far older men who encouraged him in his tastes, notably with the late F. M. Halford, an ardent amateur microscopist and the most distinguished dry-fly fisherman of his day.

The islands of Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough are alike in their climate and physiography, and also in their plant and animal life. They form a single biogeographical province, and the botany of all four islands will be dealt with here. The biotas of remote islands have long been considered of unusual interest, especially since the classical studies of Darwin in the Galapagos group. To the earlier explorers, their biological productions were matters only of curiosity and some speculation, but since the publication of Darwin’s Origin of species and Alfred Russel Wallace’s Island life , it has been realized that insular biotas present features of outstanding biological, evolutionary and geographic interest. A very great deal of attention has therefore been concentrated upon studies of the plant life of many oceanic islands, especially in Hawaii (Hillebrand, 1888; Campbell 1933; Skottsberg 1940), Islas Juan Fernandez (Skottsberg 1953-56) and other `high’ islands in the Pacific (references in Merrill 1947); in the Macaronesian islands, Bermuda and St Helena (Wallace 1895; Hemsley 1885; and later references in Turrill 1953, 1959) ; and in the scattered islands of the Southern Ocean (references in Wace 1960).

A most attractive region for the study of mountain vegetation is found in the vicinity of the Continental Divide in Western Canada. The mountains, glacier crowned and of the noblest order, are covered in their lower reaches by luxuriant forests. In the higher altitudes are extensive areas where a rich alpine vegetation finds its appropriate home. The region, therefore, is a most attractive field for the botanist, especially since the whole area is as yet practically undisturbed by man. During the last few years the writer has had considerable opportunity for observation there. Base camps have been established at spots thought favorable for the study of the plant life, and quasi-exploring expeditions have been made into districts remote from the railroad. Although only very moderate progress has been made toward a solution of the great questions which present themselves, it was thought that a description of the vegetation as it exists would be of some interest and of value as a record.

As Greenland extends from 6o0N. to about 83.5'N., the conditions for vegetative life are very different in its southern subarctic part, where there are copses of birch (Betula pubescens), and in the most northern portion, which supports the most northern vegetation. The present paper deals only with the vegetation of North Greenland, that is, Greenland north of 760N. The botanical knowledge of this part of Greenland has increased greatly during the last two decades, due partly to American explorations, but mostly to the information obtained by Danish expeditions. Usually Arctic expeditions have included no trained botanists, but one Danish expedition, the Second Thule Expedition under command of KNUD RASMUSSEN in i9i6-i9i8, was an exception. Dr. THORULD WULFF, a well known Swedish botanist, accompanied this expedition, which explored the most northern coast of Greenland facing the polar sea. Dr. WULFF succumbed to the hardships of the expedition as land was reached, after having traversed the inland ice just south of the Humboldt Glacier. He left a small collection of plants, made with wonderful energy under the hardest conditions, and also a diary containing many botanical and meteorological observations. It has been the writer's privilege to identify the higher plants of this collection and to make use of his diary. The results are embodied in a recently published paper,' of which the first part of the present article is to some extent a resume. It is rather surprising that this flora contains not less than seventy species of higher plants, that is, flowering plants and vascular cryptogams, in spite of the poor conditions under which they live. If we examine the main factors of importance to plant life, we find the following points of interest. i. In the short portion of the year during which plants are able

Of the various activities involved in public water service one of the hardest problems to solve is to produce water free from all objectional tastes 100 percent of the time when the source of supply is a river or stream which carries the usual land drainage and waste from an increasing population along its course. As improvements are made in other commodities used in a modern home, industry, or business, there is also a demand for a better quality of water. For the same reason that we are not satisfied with old models of automobiles or radios, we are not now satisfied with the quality of water that was tolerated some years ago. Many communities, however, with well water supplies are immune to purification troubles and enjoy good quality of water except for the greater hardness generally associated with wells. Although great advances have been made in water purification in recent years, the removal of all objectionable tastes and odors from surface water at all times, at a cost that may be considered reasonable, is still an unsolved problem. Since there are so many different compounds which produce taste, many of which are of local origin, there is no uniform treatment that can be satisfactorily applied to all waters to remove all of them unless it be an excessive use of activated carbon at a great cost. Cedar Rapids has used Cedar River water since 1896, when eight units of the first filter plant were built, and the operating records, although not very complete at the beginning, show that there has been a steady increase in the pollution of this stream. In the last fifteen years the bacterial counts, which is an index to pollution, have increased more than 500 percent and with it has come a multitude of minute plant life which have added to the problem of purification. Many organic compounds, both in the form of solutions and gases, resulting from the decay of these plants, and from wastes now dumped

Section I.—The Effect of Light on the Metabolic Rate of Small Animals. Introduction .—Whereas plant life is directly dependent on the supply of radiant energy from the sun or an artificial source of light, animals may lead perfectly healthy lives in complete darkness. Early observations by K. A. Hasselbalch on the total metabolic changes in experimental animals, and by A. Durig and his co-workers on the respiratory exchange in man, seemed to show that light was without action on animal metabolism. Recently, however, the therapeutic application of sunlight at Alton and Leysin (1) and the radiations of the large carbon arc in the hospitals of our large towns have yielded results which suggest a stimulant action on general metabolism. Measurements by Leonard Hill and A. C. Campbell (2), however, show that the open-air conditions were mainly responsible at the former resorts. The present investigation of the gaseous metabolism of small animals supplies an approximate measurement of the total metabolism during exposure to artificial radiations. Method .—The rat was the species chosen as it could be comfortably confined in a small quartz beaker used as a respiration chamber. The latter was fitted up in a manner somewhat similar to the arrangement in the Haldane-Pembrey respiration apparatus.

Many of man's greatest inventions have been for the annihilation of distance or space, in making possible instant communication between persons and places widely separated, thus enabling him to transport not only himself but his chattels and products over vast areas in comparatively short periods. This victory over space has brought its sorrows as well as its blessings, its pests and likewise its pleasures, its advantages as well as its disadvantages. So a disease whether of plants or of animals at present rarely remains for a long time confined to any one area or locality but, owing to the increased facilities of travel and transportation, soon finds its way over the entire civilized world, wherever climatic conditions may permit its development. In plant life one recalls at once the San Jose scale, the chestnut blight, the white pine blister, the Tussock moth and now the Dutch or elm

IT is the tenth of April, and although the skies are clear, and the sun's rays warm enough for early June, yet the Colorado landscape shows no indications of spring. The mountain range which fills the western horizon, is still clad in all the dazzling white of wintry snows, and remains a picture of beauty and sublimity quite indescribable. The plains are brown and bare, as they were during most of the winter. Here and there, tufts of the evergreen Soap-weed (Yucca angustifolia), or matted masses of Prickly Pear, show their perennial verdure, and furnish the only conspicuous signs of plant life. No April showers have fallen to revive the grasses, and the herds of long-horned Texas cattle graze contentedly upon the sere remains of last year's growth. Yet at this early date, there are wild flowers, modest, and lovely April flowers, for the eye that knows where to look for them. Extending all along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, is a series of high and picturesque table-lands, and below and among them, numerous grassy hills and knolls, all destitute of trees, often rocky, and apparently as barren as are the plains around. On sunny slopes, and in sheltered nooks among these foot-hills, we find our earliest flowers. By the first week in April, there appears on the very summits of these grassy knolls a real beauty, which, as it yet lacks an English name, may bear its Latin one, Townsendia (T. sericeca). The plant belongs to the family

The spectacular publicity given by the daily press to the recent occurrence of Synura in the water supply of New York City has tended to renew a somewhat flagging interest in the general subject of microscopic organisms in water. It may be worth while, therefore, to call attention to the long record of microscopical examinations of the water supply of Boston which were begun by the writer in 1889 and which are being continued without change of method in the laboratory of the Metropolitan District Commission. Some day these data, together with those begun a few years later in the Mount Prospect Laboratory of Brooklyn and perhaps others, ought to be assembled and studied critically in order to search out correlations between the growths of the organisms and certain climatic, physical and chemical factors which may help to explain the reasons for their erratic occurrence. As examples of these long records a few diagrams are here presented. Figure 1 shows the microscopic organisms in Wachusett Reservoir from 1898 to 1920. The data represent weekly tests of surface samples. They are plotted by months, the median for each month* as well as the maximum and minimum, being shown. It will be remembered that the top soil was removed from the site of this reservoir. Although the storage of water began in 1898, the reservoir did not fill until 1905, since which date there has never been any great depletion. During the filling period, there were few organisms in the Wachusett water. Its color at this time was quite high, and the conditions of light were not favorable to the development of plant life. Since 1905, there have been fairly regular growths of algae, and at times some rather heavy growths. Asterionella has been the most troublesome, but other diatoms and even the bluegreen algae have been present in numbers sufficient to cause

The successful use of geobotanical indicators in prospecting for boron-bearing mineral deposits is described. Three types of indicators were found to apply to three situations where boron is present in varying degrees or combinations with other chemical elements: 1) where boron content is very high, sections may be devoid of plant life or support Salsola nitraria. Pa1L and Limonium suffruticosum Ktze. ; 2) where the magnesium content of ascharites counteracts the effect of the -boron, Eurotia ceratoides C. A. M. congregations may indicate sulfate-carbonate soil salinity; and 3) where boron content is in the order of tenths of one percent, plants are oppressed, deformed or subject to plant diseases. A very low boron content, such as on old mineralized banks, on the other hand, stimulates plant growth. — A. Eustus

Reliability analysis is playing an increasingly important role in quantitative assessment of system performance for assuring nuclear safety, improving plant performance and plant life, and reducing plant operating costs. In particular, fault tree analysis with probability evaluation provides an all inclusive, versatile mathematical tool for analyzing complex systems. Its application can include a complete plant as well as any of the systems and subsystems. Fault tree analysis provides an objective basis for analyzing system design, performing trade-off studies, analyzing common mode failures, demonstrating compliance with AEC requirements, and justifying system changes or additions. The logic of the approach makes it readily understandable and, therefore, it serves as an effective visibility tool for both engineering and management.