Research In Botany

The botánica! labora tor.v is not without lts original inrestlgators. Kvfr sílice college oponed in t)ie fall series of experimenta and investigíitious nave been carred on steadily and now each of the researches has bis ov her work well nudeT way. The nnicellular foruis are being experimented with by Miss Suow vvi.o is flKing the vacancy eaused by the fllness of iliss Langdon of the corps of instructora in (lie botánica laboratory. Miss Suow stndied last yeaT iiEdeT Prof. Kleibs iu Basel, Switzerland, where she also carried on original research along the liues that &he is now following. The unicellular forms are to be described accordiug to their developnient. Upon invesügation some prove to be phases in the higlrer forms of plant Ufe vvhile crthers ar& constant in their uiiiselled state. The object of Miss Snow's investlgaHoa to find the conditions uiuler which the h%ber iorms exist in 'Au.uniceUnlar state and in the same coniHH-tion to stinjy the various eiTects oí nwurislinu-nt, le-nporafcure and liglit on these organs u their appoarance and increase. The pa?t work along these Unes has not been accurate toecause tho material experimenteel with bas been uio?1 or less impure. But in tlv: present work cuKivation has Ijeeu cai-ried ao with absolutely pure materíaU AIready many isolated fornts have beeu reaehed upon but their ful developnient has not fceen traced'. The investigación f tliose forms lias beon carried on very little in the pact and at present, so far a is knowu, Miss Snow is the only person in the United States making any such investigation. In fact, before Prof. Klebs took up the work the unlcellular fonns had no place in plaat org-anization. The equipment in tüe 'Michigan lalboratory for this work, Miss Scow has found to be better than that in Europe. The library here is also very complete in this line. Mr. Timberlake, who llegan his repearch undet Prof. Ilarper al Lake Forest University last year, is stuüying the structure oí the cell plato. At present he is at work upon a. pro'olem Ín Karyokinesis ot in othor worda the series of changes gone througn by tne m, -leus in its indirect cell-division. This problein is but partly finished and so 110 results are asyet fortb.comIng. Mr. Livingston is making & study of Algae witb especial leferenee to tne inliuence of externa! couditlons upon their repnxluction, vegetable grasvtn and behavior. His work just now is confined to tlie Vaueheria. Tlie influf-nces of nutrition and oí long eontinued absence of light have separate lv been deterrnined and now the plan Is bëing acted upon by a streng and continuous light. Some very interesting results have been obtained, especially as regards reproductiou. Part of Mr. Livingston's work is inerely verificatio:i of results already oltai::ed but other of it are strictly original, particularly tliose in wliicb. the action of strong light is concerned.