ALBERT

Description: The surprisingly high content of radium in certain deep-sea sediments discovered nearly fifty years ago by J. Joly remained unexplained until 1937, when H. Pettersson suggested an ocean-wide precipitation of ionium from sea water on to the ocean bottom as its origin. Extensive radium measurements on deep-sea cores raised by the Swedish Deep-Sea Expedition carried out in this institute by Pettersson, T. Bernert and me did not confirm the regular vertical distribution of radium reported by other workers. An expected rise in radium content from moderate values in the uppermost surface layers to a maximum corresponding to a radioactive equilibrium between precipitated ionium and ionium-supported radium generally occurred; but the maximum was not followed by the theoretical exponential decline downwards governed by the rate of decay of ionium, to 50 per cent in 83,000 years, to 25 per cent in 166,000 years, etc. Instead, a number of secondary maxima of radium content separated by equally pronounced minima were observed (see graph), which could not well be explained as due to intervening changes in the rate of total sedimentation. Another explanation offered was that ionium and radium are not in radioactive equilibrium; that is, the assumption underlying the use of measurements of radium as indicating the concentration in the same layer of its mother element is unjustified.

Description: Material: Indochina, Tonkin, Manson Mts. 2\xe2\x80\x943000\xe2\x80\x99. April\xe2\x80\x94May. (Coll. H. FRUHSTORFER), 2 \xe2\x99\x82 \xe2\x99\x82, 1 \xe2\x99\x80.\nColour: probably somewhat faded. Head yellowish, with frons and vertex rather dark brown. Antennae yellowish, the distal part of the 6th, and the 7th joint brownish. Somites with a broad median yellowish band from collum to tail and yellowish lateral keels, the rest castaneous, slightly paler at the ventral side. Sternites and legs yellowish.

Description: Manilkara Adanson em. Gilly, Trop. Woods 73, 1943, 1\xe2\x80\x9422 \xe2\x80\x94 Manilkara Adanson, Fam. 2,1763,166; Dubard, Ann. Mus. col. Mars. 23,1915,6; Baehni, Candollea 7, 1938, 394\xe2\x80\x94508; Lam, Blumea 4, 2, 1941, 323; Lam, Blumea 5, 1, 1942, 41 \xe2\x80\x94 Manilkara Rheede, Lam in Bull. Jard. bot. Bzg, s\xc3\xa9r. 3, 7, 1925, 238; Lam, 1. c., s\xc3\xa9r. 3, 8, 1927, 481 \xe2\x80\x94 Manyl-kara Rheede, Hort. Mal. 4, 1673, 53, t. 25 \xe2\x80\x94 Mimusops L., sect. Ternaria DC., Prodr. 8, 1844, 203; as a subgenus in Engler, Monogr. Afr. Pfl. Fam und Gatt. 8, 1904, 55 \xe2\x80\x94 Delastrea A. DC, Prodr. 8, 1844, 195 \xe2\x80\x94 Labramia A. DC, 1. c. 672 \xe2\x80\x94 Mimusops L., sect. Euternaria Engl., 1. c., p.p. (except sect. Muriea) \xe2\x80\x93 Northia (not of Hook, f.) sensu Lam, 1. c. 1925, 241 and 1927, 481, p.p.; Lam, Bern. P. Bish. Mus. Bull. 141, 1936, 163 \xe2\x80\x94 Northiopsis Kanehira, Bot. Mag. Tokyo 47, 1933, 677; Lam, 1. c. 1941, 343; Lam, 1. c. 1942, 43 \xe2\x80\x94 Faucherea Lec., Bull. Mus. hist. nat. 26, 1920, 248 \xe2\x80\x94 Achras L., Sp. Pl., 1753, App. 1190; Loefling, Iter Hisp,, 1758, 186; Lam, Bull. Jard. bot. Bzg, s\xc3\xa9r. 3, 7, 1925, 218; Lam, 1. c., s\xc3\xa9r. 3, 8, 1927, 476; Little, Brittonia 7, 1948, 48.\nLaticiferous trees. Leaves alternate, coriaceous, often obovate with rounded tip, stipules caducous; midrib impressed or crested above, prominent below, secondary and tertiary nerves parallel, secondary ones hardly stronger than tertiary nerves, the latter slender, descending from margin, often stretchedly and minutely reticulate. Inflorescences axillary, clustered, manyflorous. Flowers hermaphrodite, pedicellate, pedicel often incrassate when fruiting. Calyx with 2 whorls of 3 lobes each. Corolla with 6 lobes, each of them with 2 dorsal or lateral segments which are sometimes reduced or wanting. Stamens 6, epipetalous, inserted in the row of the staminodes, anthers dehiscing extrorsely. Staminodes 6, petaloid, alternipetalous, ovate, acuminate,, usually dentate or lobed. Ovary 6\xe2\x80\x9414-celled, cells 1-ovuled, ovules axile, anatropous to campylotropous. Fruit a dryish berry, 1\xe2\x80\x946- seeded; seeds compressed to terete, pear-shaped to oblong ellipsoid, scar basiventral or almost basal, large to small, wide to narrow, oblong to linear, with the hilum at the apical and the micropyle at the basal end; testa crustaceous; albumen copious, cotyledons foliaceous, thin, ovate, radicle long exserted, cylindrical.

Description: The following new species of Terminalia will be included in the forthcoming account of the Combretaceae for the Flora Malesiana where their respective positions in the key will indicate more clearly their relationship to already described species.\nTerminalia capitulata Exell, sp. nov.

Description: Abbayes, H. des: Trait\xc3\xa9 de Lich\xc3\xa9nologie. 217 pp., 109 fig., 8\xc2\xb0. Paris 1951.\nAkamine, E.H.: Viability of Hawaiin forest seeds in storage at various temperatures and relative humidities (Pac. Sc. 5, 1951, 36-46).

Description: Mr A.G.L. Adelbert was on short leave in Holland, Nov. 1951-April 1952; during Dr Donk\xe2\x80\x99s leave he has been appointed acting Keeper of the Herbarium Bogoriense.\nMr E.G. Browne assumed duty as Head of the Sarawak Forest Department, Jan. 1951.

Description: This important book, written by C.A. Gardner after 30 years of field study and several years of preparation, deals with 420 species of grasses of which over a hundred have been provided with a plate, by which the habit and important details are shown. Especially the drawings of various parts of the spikelets are very skilful, instructive, and of the utmost importance for students of critical genera.\nThere is an introductory part giving a general survey of the grass vegetation of W. Australia. It is a revelation to see that so many introduced and naturalised species had to be included; this striking invasion of 132 species affects a great change in the original vegetation.

Description: Sir Joseph Banks. Sir Joseph Banks, the autocrat of philosophers. The Bartchworth Press. London, 344 pp. 8\xc2\xb0. sh.25/.. By H.C. Cameron.\nDr P.J.S. Cramer, late director of the General Agricultural Experiment Station, Buitenzorg and extra-ordinary professor of tropical agricultural economy at Utrecht University died at Wassenaar, Holland, March 23, 1952, in the age of 72.

Description: Dr R.C. Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, Leyden, made a provisional revision of the genus Ophiorrhiza (Rubiaceae). Onwards of 1953 he will be working on the completion of Backer\xe2\x80\x99s Flora of Java.\nDr M.J. Baumann-Bodenheim who made a big collection of plants in New Caledonia during the past two years has been temporarily appointed at the Bot. Garden Z\xc3\xbcrich for the working out of this collection.

Description: Erycibe beccariana Hoogl. sp. nov. \xe2\x80\x94 Frutex scandens, ramulis junioribus sparsim stellato-hirsutis, adultioribus glabrescentibus cortice rimis longitudinalibus fisso. Folia elliptica ad elliptico-oblonga, 9\xe2\x80\x9413 X 4\xe2\x80\x94 71/2 cm, apice breviter acuminata, basi rotundata vel minute cordata, supra glabra, subtus sparsim stellato-hirsuta, glabrescentia; petiolus 8\xe2\x80\x9413 mm longus. Inflorescentiae axillares, paniculatae, c. 6\xe2\x80\x9412-florae, 1\xe2\x80\x942 cm longae, stellato-hirsutae, bracteis minutis, caducis. Flores pedicello 2\xe2\x80\x94 4 mm longo bracteolis 2 minutis, caducis. Sepala 2 exteriora transversoovalia, c. 2.5 X 3 mm, 2 interiora transverso-elliptica, c. 2.7 X 4.5 mm, extus stellato-hirsuta, intus glabra. Corolla c. 8.5 mm longa; areae mesopetalinae c. 4 X 3 mm, adpresso-hirsutae pilis praesertim 4\xe2\x80\x946-ramosis; lobuli c. 3.6 mm longi, 3 mm lati, margine undulati. Stamina c. 1.1 mm supra corollae basin inserta,, filamento 1.6 mm longo, basi c. 0.6 mm lato, anthera c. 2.3 mm longa, 1 mm lata, 0.8 mm crassa, apice acuminata acumine sterili c. 0.6 mm longo, basi subcordata. Ovarium ellipsoideum, c. 1.1 mm longum, 1.8 mm diam., glabrum; stigma conicum, c. 1 mm altum, 1.8 mm diam., radiatim 10-carinatum carinis 5 maioribus 5 minoribus alternantibus.\nTypes: Beccari P.P. 91, holotype in FI; paratype: Beccari P.P. 532 (FI). New Guinea.